Alibaba A.I. Labs Announces Strategic Collaboration With MediaTek On IoT Initiatives
Alibaba A.I. Labs, which leads the development of Alibaba's consumer
artificial intelligent (AI) products, and MediaTek, a global fabless
semiconductor company, today announced a strategic collaboration in Internet of
Things (IoT) initiatives including smart home protocols, customized IoT chips
and AI smart hardware, with the aim of fostering the development of a connected
world in the IoT era.
The two parties also announced the first Smartmesh connectivity solution
in China
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.
Miffy Chan, Head of Alibaba A.I. Labs, commented: "We
are excited about partnering with MediaTek to explore collaboration in the IoT
ecosystem. Our AI and cloud computing capabilities, along with MediaTek's
cutting-edge technology in chip design, provide unique advantages to our
connectivity solutions for smart homes, offering real benefits to consumers in China
Jerry Yu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Home
Entertainment Business Group, MediaTek said: "MediaTek is
thrilled to partner with Alibaba A.I. Labs in building up a voice-controlled
smart home ecosystem. This follows our collaboration in delivering the great
success of Tmall Genie X1."
"The smart home market is undergoing tremendous growth as
technologies advance. With MediaTek's strength in connectivity and baseband,
computing and multimedia, coupled with Alibaba's leading advantages in cloud
computing and AI, we are confident that the collaboration will mark a milestone
in the development of the IoT era," Yu added.
The partnership comes on the heels of the successful collaboration on
Tmall Genie, for which MediaTech provides chip technology support. Alibaba A.I.
Labs launched the smart home assistant in July last year, with an aim to
provide brand new interaction experiences for Chinese consumers. Over one
million Tmall Genie devices were sold in China
IoTConnect is an open connectivity protocol based on Bluetooth mesh
standard for smart hardware and smart home appliance manufacturers. Smart
devices using the protocol can be automatically paired with Tmall Genie. The
protocol aims to promote unified connectivity standards among smart devices,
and hence lower the cost in developing connected devices and foster the
development of voice-controlled smart home ecosystem.
The Smartmesh solution supports the latest Bluetooth mesh networking and
Bluetooth 5 functionality set up by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG),
the body that oversees the development of Bluetooth standards. Customized
Bluetooth SoCs (system-on-chip) - MT7581 and MT7583 - for the solution are
featured with Bluetooth smart mesh technology, automatic pairing, fast
connection and low-power consumption. The two SoCs will be ready for the market
in the second half of this year.
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