Smart devices, components and services take the IoT from concept to reality
Samsung Electronics has showcased its latest innovation around Internet of Things (IoT) components, devices and platforms at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. Using a CES keynote to take stock of a year of IoT innovation, Dr. WP Hong said Samsung had “achieved a lot in a very short amount of time” and that the IoT was now “in sync with real life” and “delivering real value for consumers, businesses and society at large”.
Dr. Hong, president of Samsung SDS and the head of its solution business, described Samsung’s devices and components, platforms and security solutions as the key ingredients that “bring ‘smarts’ to the everyday objects in our lives.”
During the keynote, Samsung presented new components such as an ultra-thin and flexible high capacity battery and the Bio-Processor, a powerful but extremely small all-in-one healthcare chip.
He also demonstrated the rapidly growing range of Samsung devices and appliances that are equipped with IoT technologies for the smart home of today, by working with the smart things ecosystem. The new Samsung Family Hub refrigerator, with its large 21.5 inch LED display, can be the centre of food shopping management, a place for families to share notes, pictures and entertainment, and can even makes it possible to check on your mobile device what’s in the fridge thanks to its inbuilt cameras.
Dr. Hong said Samsung’s IoT strategy was to promote “openness, interoperability, and cross-industry collaboration”, because they were the underpinnings of IoT success.
Seamless connectivity of IoT devices was another important factor to ensure a good IoT experience, said Dr. Hong. Samsung is working with its industry partners in the Open Interconnect Consortium to build a truly open connectivity framework called IoTivity.
Samsung believes in an Open Partnership approach, and therefore presented another industry-first: the Samsung Smart Home Cloud API, which makes it possible to integrate any IoT-ready Samsung household appliance into any IoT ecosystem.
The Internet of Things “is generating enormous amounts of data”, said Dr. Hong, which makes it crucial to develop “incredibly strong security solutions”. However, said Dr. Hong, “there can be only one owner of IoT data: our customers.”
He described Samsung’s progress in expanding its security platform for mobile devices, Samsung KNOX, and presented a security solution for smart TVs. Just like KNOX, this smart security solution provides protection that is hardwired into devices and appliances; it will first be used to make Samsung’s 2016 smart TVs safe and ready for the IoT.
Joined by partners from many different industries, Samsung showed how the IoT is ready to bring immediate value to our lives. Dr. Hong and top executives from Microsoft’s Windows and devices group, Goldman Sachs, BMW, serviced residence owner and operator Ascott, materials science firm Corning, and energy solutions provider Samsung SDI, demonstrated how Samsung devices and platforms can provide a much smarter environment to live and work in.
Samsung discussed a broad range of devices, platforms and services, from smart mobility and Samsung Pay to healthcare solutions using the Bio-Processor, and solutions that bring the IoT to smart cities and smart nations. The expertise of Samsung SDS, meanwhile, helps companies to transform the quality of their production lines, output, logistics and maintenance services.
“Unlocking the value of the IoT is an amazing opportunity for all of us: as consumers, as businesses and as society,” said Dr. Hong. “When we all work together, IoT can be in sync with real life.”
