NEC, Daikin Develops Air Conditioner for Staying Awake

July 26, 2018

Tokyo- NEC Corp. and Daikin Industries Ltd. said Wednesday they have developed an air conditioning system that helps banish sleepiness.

The system will lower the temperature of a room after detecting anyone who looks sleepy in the room by analyzing eyelid movements in detail by artificial intelligence, using images from cameras mounted on personal computers.

The system, which combines NEC's face recognition technology and Daikin's air conditioning expertise, will be commercialized within a few years, according to officials.

It is expected to be used in offices and conference rooms.

NEC and Daikin have demonstrated in a test that lowering room temperature by 3 degrees Celsius is more effective in keeping people awake than adjusting lighting levels or using aromatic oil.

Earlier this month, the companies started a field trial by equipping an experimental office with a prototype system that controls both air and lighting. Jiji Press