The company hasn’t announced pricing or availability, nor does it detail what technology the Artcool AI Air is using. Ideally it’s relying on mmWave radar sensing — similar to what Samsung may rely on to bring ambient sensing to its Smart Things devices — which is sensitive enough to even detect a person’s rate of breathing. That technology could potentially allow the Artcool AI Air to differentiate between an actual person in a room, and a plant swaying back and forth in the airflow that it can ignore.
Previous additions to LG’s Artcool air conditioner line featured a 27-inch LCD screen on the front that can be used to display artwork or family photos in order to camouflage the wall-mounted unit as a piece of art. The new Artcool AI Air instead features a black mirror finish with a ”multi-line grille structure” on its front outlet designed to spread out and soften its airflow.
The air conditioner’s temperature sensors can detect when a window has been opened, LG says, automatically activating an energy-saving mode so that it stops producing cold air that’s possibly escaping outside. Through the LG ThinQ app, users can also monitor the unit’s power usage and set a limit, allowing them to balance their comfort level versus how high they’re willing to see their power bill rise.
