Alibaba and MediaTek plan to make homes ‘smarter’
Alibaba AI Labs, which leads the development of Alibaba’s consumer artificial intelligent products, and MediaTek, a global fabless semiconductor company, on Tuesday announced a strategic collaboration in Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives.
It covers smart home protocols, customised IoT chips and AI smart hardware, with the aim of fostering the development of a connected world.
According to a MediaTek release, the two parties also announced the first Smartmesh connectivity solution in China that supports the latest many-to-many Bluetooth mesh technology, in an effort to speed up the adoption of this technology in smart homes.
The solution, which is based on the Labs’ self-developed IoT protocol named IoTConnect and the Bluetooth chip co-developed by both parties, enables smart home devices to automatically pair with Tmall Genie, the Lab’s first voice-controlled smart assistant, leading up to a Tmall Genie-controlled smart home ecosystem.
The partnership comes on the heels of the successful collaboration on Tmall Genie, for which MediaTech provides chip technology support.
Alibaba AI Labs launched the smart home assistant in July last year, with an aim to provide new interaction experiences for Chinese consumers. Over one million Tmall Genie devices were sold in China during Alibaba’s Global Shopping Festival on November 11 last year.
