Panasonic decided to focus on research and development in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and the "Internet of things" (IoT). To this end, the company plans to increase tenfold the staff working on AI technologies in the next five years, Nikkei reports..

Currently in the state of Panasonic there are 100 engineers engaged in AI projects. In the next two years, their number is expected to increase to 300, and in three years - to 1,000 people, said Yoshiyuki Miyabe (Yoshiyuki Miyabe) at a press conference held on Wednesday, April 19. Miabe was appointed head of the department of commercial innovations, created April 1, which will develop Panasonic's business in the field of AI technologies.

Panasonic attracts specialists from outside to the new department. In particular, Vataru Baba (Vataru Baba), who was invited from the German software company SAP. At the same time, he will act as the head of the North American division of Panasonic, based in Silicon Valley. Another invited specialist was Tadahiro Taniguchi, an associate professor at Japanese Ritsumeikan University.

Previously, Panasonic was not officially engaged in the development of artificial intelligence, but AI technologies are used in the home appliances of the Japanese vendor. In addition to consumer electronics, AI and IoT technologies can find application in other Panasonic products, such as smart home solutions and automotive systems. Currently, the Panasonic Research Center in the city of Yokagama is exploring the possibilities of introducing artificial intelligence in unmanned vehicles.

In addition, large data sets generated by AI systems can become a promising business.

It is possible that Panasonic will collect, analyze and monitor the information coming from its many devices, in order to subsequently consolidate these data and find them practical application.

The department of business innovation will not only focus on product development, but will also look for new services that the company will be able to provide, stressed in Panasonic. Also, Yoshiyuki Miabe noted that the unit must find the keys to further growth of Panasonic. The company expects that the scale of the new business will be measured by tens of billions of yen.