Awards

At the PHASE FREE AWARD 2023 organised by the Phase Free Association, Sharp’s approach to the use of AIoT home appliances for disaster prevention won the Audience Award in the Idea category. A ceremony of this award was held on September 9 at the University of Tokyo Convention Hall of Institute of Industrial Science(Setagaya-ku, Tokyo).

The PHASE FREE AWARD recognizes products and services that transcend the boundaries between 'always' (normal times) and 'what ifs' (in times of disaster) and are useful in any situation. The Ideas category is open to products, services and facilities that do not yet exist in society, or that cannot be used or purchased as of the closing date of the call, and have phase-free characteristics. In addition to the phase-free nature of the product, it is judged on its focus on the issue, how it solves the problem, novelty and originality, and the prize is awarded to the product that passes the final screening. The Audience Award is awarded to the nominees selected by the judging process and voted for by the pre-registered audience (general viewers), with the award being determined by the large number of support received.

Sharp is studying the use of AIoT home appliances for disaster prevention with NIED. As part of this, from February 27 to March 5, 2023, a demonstration experiment was conducted in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, for citizens using refrigerators, air conditioners and air purifiers equipped with a voice speech function, to transmit voice information simulating disaster prevention information.

Comment by Tadayuki Sato, President, Phase Free Association
This is an excellent idea that successfully links the features of white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners to phase-free. These appliances, which are always close to us and in contact with our daily lives, have a good understanding of the characteristics of individual users and their households, in other words, their daily habits. In other words, knowing the everyday situation means that they can understand unusual situations that are different from the everyday situation. They can detect and inform unusual situations of the user and, by extension, inform the user of unusual surroundings. This idea, which can be implemented in all kinds of household appliances, can be expected to make our lives even more phase-free.