Dyson Tech to get smarter: 15-year plan focuses on connectivity

Dyson is pursuing its £2.75bn new technology investment plan. In the next 15 years, the focus will shift from mechanical engineering to embedded software, cloud communications, and robotics.

We have seen the first steps in this direction with the incorporation of software – smart, sensitive technologies in particular – into its recent releases.

Its current flagship Dyson V15 Detect cordless vacuum cleaner features a piezo sensor that works in conjunction with an LCD screen to measure, count and display the amount of dust particles being removed.

The yet-to-be-released successor to the V15 Detect, Gen5detect, will build on this technology and give it a new look: the vacuum cleaner will automatically increase or decrease suction power based on the amount of dust it detects.

In a video released by the company, Jake Dyson, chief engineer and son of founder James Dyson, described software as “absolutely critical to every single function we perform” and said of the company: “Ten years ago, there were about 50 pure software developers . Now there are about 650 of us around the world.”

The company plans to continue this hiring trend, with developers focusing on creating learning technologies and products that can identify and solve their own problems.

Jake Dyson explained the brand’s vision: “Imagine a world where a product is repaired within 24 hours or replaced before you know anything is wrong with it. We want to relieve consumers of this concern.”

But the connection will be used not only for individual cases of problem solving. There is another and perhaps unexpected application. Dyson uses its networked air purifiers to collect data on a massive scale, which is far less publicized than its wireless purifier innovations or even its tax avoidance maneuvers.

Dyson has been monitoring air quality for several years with its prototype air quality backpack and isolation air quality research. And, according to a video just released, Dyson is also tracking air quality reports from four million connected air purifiers sold. It receives 200 million air quality signals from these machines every day.

Jake Dyson said: “We are probably the only ones in the world that have a function to alert people about sandstorms, forest fires or something like that.”

Dyson

In this context, Dyson’s announcement of the Zone, which surprised many Dyson fans, makes more sense. Zone is a combo headphone and personal air purifier. It draws in air, cleans it and directs it to the wearer’s mouth and nose. It should be released soon, but the launch date and price have yet to be announced.

Because it’s a connected product, Zone can provide Dyson with millions of additional air quality data points as its users roam around.

Yes, it’s a strange world we live in, where a luxury appliance brand can make an incredible turn to become the world’s air quality authority. What will he do in this role? We’ll have to wait and see.

You can watch the video and see Jake Dyson’s commentary, or find out what Tech Advisor’s Lewis Painter thought when he tried out the Zone.