Panasonic Miraie focuses on connected future homes

'The Future Homes' or Miraie, in Japanese, recently debuted in India. Focusing on connected living, Panasonic empowers your everyday life with seamless connectivity across all your Panasonic appliances with the MirAIe app.

Here, Dinesh Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd, and Manish Misra, Chief Innovation Officer, Panasonic India, tell us more. Excerpts:

DQ: Elaborate on the IoT and AI-enabled platform – Miraie.

Dinesh Aggarwal: Panasonic has a longstanding commitment towards creating ‘A Better Life, A Better World’. In line with this vision, we have forayed into the Connected Living Solutions space with the launch of our IoT and AI-enabled platform – Miraie.

With the literal meaning of the Miraie being ‘future home’ in Japanese, the platform is aimed at empowering the everyday lives of our consumers with comfort, convenience and seamless connectivity across all Panasonic appliances. The platform presently hosts India’s largest range of connected ACs, smart doorbells, smart plugs and switches, with plans to expand the connected products portfolio by the end of this year. 

Conceptualized and developed at Panasonic’s India Innovation Centre, the solution features:

DQ: Where is 5G happening in India? So far, telcos are caught in the AGR battle. 

Dinesh Aggarwal: While there have been certain delays in the creation of a 5G infrastructure in India, the opportunities are still immense given the sheer size and scale of the internet users in the country. We are still at the initial stages of 5G adoption globally and if we can resolve the infrastructural challenges, we will be able to be at the forefront of the next technological revolution.

DQ: How does Panasonic intend to extend connected living in a true sense? 

Dinesh Aggarwal: Let me define what we mean by connected living. It's 4 AM, you are starting to feel a little too cold, curling around your blanket and voila, your AC senses it and reduces temperature without you lifting a finger. Your doorbell has been already tuned to recognise the face of your regular guests, while, your refrigerator has pre-ordered milk for your breakfast before you realized it's over. You walk into your room and brightness is adjusted automatically basis your liking, you control what goes on in the house even when you are in another country and many more such experiences. And this is a reality. In the next five years, this will be a common phenomenon across homes.

The product portfolio that we have launched includes India’s largest range of connected ACs, Smart Doorbell, Smart Plugs, and Switches. We plan to extend the product portfolio to include products such as connected Washing Machines, TV, Refrigerator, Geyser, Fans among other devices and appliances in the near future. We are looking to democratise technology and hence are offering our new connected air conditioners at the same price point as the conventional split ACs. The starting range is INR 35,990. With Miraie, we aim to bring down the total cost of ownership as the platform sends users regular notifications for servicing requirements driving optimum output and efficient performance over time.

We expect this combination of price and technology to allow people to embrace the next generation of connected living by Panasonic. 

Dinesh Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India Private Limited

 DQ: Why does Miraie provide connectivity between Panasonic devices only and not by other brands? 

 Manish Misra: The connected ecosystem is the next big thing that is taking the country by storm. We, at Panasonic, are consistent in innovating with the rapidly changing technology landscape and fast-evolving consumer preferences. As part of Panasonic Life Solutions, we have a range of smart plugs under Miraie which can make any device smart by helping you manage the device remotely.

In addition, Miraie is compatible with Google and Alexa so you can engage with your Panasonic and other devices through these platforms seamlessly. In fact, any appliance or making of such appliances can be made part of the connected ecosystem through the use of Vetaar smart plugs and switches; that is seamlessly integrated with Miraei.

Manish Misra, Chief Innovation Officer, Panasonic India

DQ: Google’s Voice Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa may be tampered. How are you providing foolproofsecurity?

Manish Misra: We take the safety, security, and privacy of our consumers very seriously. At Panasonic, we follow the principle of design such as - Privacy by Design, Security by Design, wherein we follow a standard procedure and mechanism, such as anonymization, deep encryption, multi-factor authentication, etc., to safeguard customer data or PII (Personal Identifiable Information).

With an aim to build trust among our users, we ensure complete transparency and provide consumers with complete control of their personal data. In line with the same commitment, the Miraie platform comes with advanced privacy settings that give users the power to choose how much they want to share with the platform. 

 DQ: Elaborate on the Panasonic IoT smart products.

Manish Misra: We recently unveiled the first range of IoT products that will be available in the Indian market - Connected Air Conditioners, Smart Door Bell and Plugs, and Switches. Let us take an example of the AC here - besides just a simple on/ off functionality, our AC hosts unique feature – sleep profiling which allows users to set the room temperature for different parts of the night allowing uninterrupted sleep.

If you are driving home on a hot summer afternoon, Miraie synced with your Google maps will send you a prompt to turn on your AC when you are 15 mins from home. Our Smart Plugs and Switches not only allow users to operate smart devices but also the conventional devices in this connected world. The Smart Door Bell allows one to know who’s at the door even when not at home, ensuring safety and security for the family.  

The intuitive Miraie platform helps recognise usage patterns and suggests optimal modes extending the best comfort for consumers. It also offers features such as e-Warranty and AMC management, OneTouch-service request, proactive maintenance notifications among others.