Bosch is growing with connected energy and building solutions. Last year, the Energy and Building Technology business sector sold some 13 million web-enabled devices ? everything from connected heating, cooling, and ventilation systems in office buildings, to smart home applications.

The key to further growth: artificial intelligence

Management board member Stefan Hartung: ?Everyone is talking about AI. We?re putting it to use.?
Bosch energy and building technology sales rise to 5.5 billion euros
Bosch is expanding its involvement in software platforms

?The internet of things is and will remain the key driver for our business,? said Dr.Stefan Hartung, the member of Bosch?s board of management responsible for energy and building technology, at a press conference. The company expects the sector?s sales to grow to 5.5 billion euros in 2018.

That amounts to an increase of 2 percent, or 6 percent when adjusted for exchange-rate effects. He added that artificial intelligence (AI) will be the key to further advances on the internet of things as well as future growth: ?With the help of AI, web-enabled products will become intelligent assistants.?

Smart and connected: greater safety, efficiency, and convenience

Where energy and building technology are concerned, connectivity and AI have the potential to boost security, efficiency, and convenience. To give one example: The Building Technologies division offers cameras that use smart image analysis to pinpoint fires.

With a direct line of sight on potentially dangerous situations, these cameras spot flames and smoke in seconds ?which is even faster than conventional smoke detectors. Smoke does not first need to reach the ceiling before the alarm is raised? and those few extra seconds can help limit the damage and perhaps even save lives.

?Everyone is talking about AI. Bosch is putting it to use,? Hartung said. ?In ten years, every electronic Bosch product will either utilize AI itself or will have been developed and manufactured with its help.?

The company plans to invest accordingly, with around 300 million euros alone going to expand the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI) by 2021. The BCAI currently employs 170 experts globally, and looking ahead, this is expected to rise to 400.

They are currently working on some 80 development projects ? from automated driving to applications in medicine and manufacturing. Many of these are being carried out in collaboration with academic partners, including the universities of T