Brief:

• Oral-B, the Procter & Gamble-owned brand of dental care products, introduced an electric toothbrush that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to track how people brush their teeth and offer personalized tips on oral health. The Artificial Intelligence Brush Genius X works with Oral-B apps, including the Funzone and Disney Magic-Timer to help kids develop better brushing habits.
• The Genius X toothbrush's AI has been trained with thousands of brushing patterns to recognize each user's style in real time. People brush their teeth for an average of 30 to 60 seconds, less than the recommended two minutes. Oral-B said its mobile app helps to boost the average brushing time to at least two minutes through personalized brushing suggestions based on an individual user.
• Stephen Squire, Oral-B's global brand director, said the company foresees dental devices that help people incorporate at-home health monitoring into their daily routine. The company debuted the Genius X toothbrush, which comes with a travel case that also charges a smartphone, at this week's MWC 2019 in Barcelona.

Insight:

Internet of Things (IoT) mobile connectivity is gradually being added to more appliances and household products, as Oral-B demonstrates with its Genius X toothbrush that works with a mobile app to help people improve their brushing habits. Entertainment brands like Disney can extended their licensing to new platforms like connected toothbrushes, highlighted by the Disney Magic-Timer app for Oral B that lets parents purchase popular Disney characters to encourage their kids' oral hygiene.

Oral-B has continued to add the latest mobile technologies to its devices, often introducing them at Mobile World Congress each year. The brand in 2013 debuted its iPhone app to track daily tooth brushing habits and offer tips for improved oral care. In 2015, Oral-B updated the app to let users receive feedback from dentists and hygienists and added mobile rewards the following year.

Along with connected toothbrushes, the IoT market is forecast to include a vast array of electronic devices. About 100 IoT devices will exist for every person by 2025, translating into an $11 trillion market, according to Marcelo Claure, COO of tech conglomerate SoftBank. He cited a survey that said 98% of companies have IoT on their strategic road maps, and 50% see IoT as a priority, VentureBeat reported. The expansion of high-speed 5G networks is predicted to help drive adoption of IoT devices including household appliances, smart TVs, driverless cars and drone fleets, among others.