Weekend Musings: Finding Konosuke Matsushita’s Vision at CES 2020

On Konosuke Matsushita’s, Founder of Panasonic India, birth anniversary this past November, I expressed my intention to share his learnings and philosophies with you all. It’s difficult to not get influenced by his teachings if you familiarize yourself with his adventurous life. The circumstances he braved and the values he upheld, all for the betterment of society, are an inspiration like none other.

With the Consumer Electronic Show 2020 concluding recently, today felt like a good occasion to talk about one of his philosophies. As an entrepreneur, he believed that technology should be like tap water – available in abundance at an affordable cost. And this thought laid the foundation for the birth of Panasonic. The fundamental idea is to be able to solve the problems of society, and this thought holds relevance even in today’s time.

The purpose of technology is to have an impact. The innovations of today must make lives better tomorrow by blending seamlessly into our lives. An innovation that can add to either convenience, connectivity, or communication is bound to be a success, no matter the scale.

CES 2020 saw many such examples coming to life. Even though I could not attend the show this year, owing to social media I could experience all the innovations being unveiled there. For one, I feel proud to see us there year after year. Panasonic has the record for the longest-running exhibitor by being there for 53 consecutive years. And it is fantastic what we have managed to accomplish over the past year – the upgrades we have made, new steps taken and most important of all, how far ahead we have been able to take Konosuke Matsushita’s vision.

CIRRUS is what I am most looking forward to in the near future. An intelligent and connected vehicle data platform that can improve safety and mobility on the road by sharing data between vehicles, infrastructure, roadways and traffic operators, all in real-time. I am passionate about traffic solutions, as you may have read earlier. HomeX is another promising technology, making everyday life more convenient. Through advanced analytics, it will adapt to ones’ patterns and behaviour, allowing appliances, electronics and services to adjust to being more personalized to accommodate and anticipate one's needs. Eagerly waiting to see how they create the impact they are capable of in our lives. Another aspect I enjoyed was the latest addition of Panasonic Talks; a series of insightful discussions with some of the brightest minds and passionate advocates in their respective industries on technology.

There’s so much to go on about our love affair with technology. Innovation is constant and the next set of technologies will soon be our today. Of course, there remains the discussion on overindulgence in technology; a topic of discussion for another day; but in my opinion, the good of technology will always outweigh the drawbacks, it’s just the way one looks at it.

IoT is already becoming a reality as we become more and more connected, and we must embrace technology where people, ideas, companies and devices can interact to make the world a better place.