此文章来自奥马白皮书第11篇。

An interview with Simon Wu, Vice President R&D and co-founder, Homa Appliances
专访吴世庆：作为奥马冰箱研发副总裁兼核心创始团队的一员怎么看待技术变革

Being among the founders of one of the largest cooling products manufacturers in the world and in your position as VP R&D, you have been a privileged witness and actor of technological evolution in the cooling industry over the past twenty years. How did R&D in this field evolve over the years?

奥马冰箱是全球领先的冰箱制造企业之一，您作为奥马的研发副总裁，见证了冰箱行业过去20年的技术演变。这些年来，冰箱领域的研发是如何演变的呢？

In the past, R&D concentrated mostly around the industrialisation stage of a product’s lifecycle. It was mainly about finding ways of optimising production while constantly improving product performance, which substantially amounted to the capacity of an appliance to produce cold efficiently. Over time there has been a shift in focus, from the product, i.e. the “container”, to the “content”, i.e. the food items it is meant to preserve. A lot of research was conducted on food, and the industry learned a lot about how it kept over time, and how different foods reacted to temperature and humidity, hence the re-discovery of crispers, the appearance of cool boxes and an increased degree of flexibility for consumersto set temperature and humidity levels themselves. It’s as if R&D had moved out of the factory and into the consumers’ homes.

过去，研发主要集中在产品生命周期的产业化阶段。主要是在优化生产流程的同时不断提高产品性能，即冰箱的制冷效率。随着时间的推移，研发重点也由“（保存食物的）容器”向“（容器内的）物品”转移，即从冰箱本身过渡到冰箱里的食物。业界针对食物进行了大量研究，例如食物如何长效保鲜、不同食物对温度和湿度的反应等。由此，我们重新审视果蔬箱、冷藏箱的结构，而且提高了消费者设置变温区温度和湿度的自主性。产品研发也真正走进了消费者的家中。

What’s in store for us now? What are the current trends and scenarios that will influence the cooling industry in the near future?

接下来我们要做些什么？目前有哪些趋势和场景会在不久的将来影响冰箱行业？

Today, the name of the game is “food preservation” as opposed to “producing cold”, and another effect of this changing perspective is that consumers lifestyles have also come into the equation. That produced a huge leap forward both under the technology aspect and in terms of design. The objective of R&D isn’t simply meeting technical specifications anymore, but also satisfying consumers’ expectations in terms of emotions, status and eating and shopping habits. In recent years, there’s been a growing attention on the part of consumers to environmental issues. Healthy eating, translating into increased demand for wholesome foods and well-being in general, are also trending. That’s a clear indication of what the market expects of us: products that are respectful of our planet and serve our new, healthier lifestyles. Add to that the fact that the refrigerator has become the centrepiece of the most important room in our homes, the kitchen, and a leading character in the staging of our lifestyles, and you’ll know where we’re going next: mean-looking, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and food-savvy fridges featuring innovative, leading-edge technology.

今天，竞争的焦点落在了“保鲜”，而不再是“制冷”。这种变化带来的另一个影响是，我们必须把消费者的生活方式纳入考量。这在技术和设计层面都是巨大的挑战。研发目标不再是简单地满足技术规格，而是满足消费者在情感、生活品质、饮食和购物习惯方面的期望。近年来，消费者越来越关注环境问题。健康饮食也成为了未来趋势之一，人们对健康食品的需求增加，同时也更重视身体健康。由此可见，消费市场希望：产品以环保为初衷，并适用于新一代健康生活方式。此外，厨房已成为家庭生活最重要的空间，而冰箱作为厨房里的一员大将，无疑是人们当前生活方式的重要体现。因此，下一步我们会通过创新的前沿技术，打造集美观、节能、环保于一体的食物储存专家。

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