Samsung's Kim Eyes 'Age of Experience' With Tech Geared to Individuals
LAS VEGAS -- Samsung envisions an “age of experience” where artificial intelligence works with advanced hardware to tailor technology experiences to consumers' lifestyle and needs, said Samsung Consumer Electronics division CEO H.S. Kim in a CES keynote Monday. A connected ecosystem will enable new experiences encompassing virtual and augmented reality, robotics, in-vehicle safety and entertainment, personalized health and wellness and smart cities, he said. More details here.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Future products presented included Ballie, a yellow, softball-sized rolling robot that followed Kim around the stage -- or moved away from him, per instructions -- to give him space. The robot also came when called. Kim called Ballie, which flashed lights and made beeping sounds akin to Star Wars’ R2D2, the “future of personal care.” A video showed Ballie taking photos of its human exercising and instructing a robot vacuum to clean up a mess. The ball-shaped robot “knows you, supports you and takes care of you,” Kim said.
Presenters gave a glimpse into the role Samsung wants to play in consumers’ health and wellness. Wearables will have fitness assistants to tell customers to keep moving and to help seniors connect to family members or emergency services. Wearables will monitor users’ stress levels, and software-based virtual assistants will lead meditation exercises. In collaboration with Kaiser Permanente’s HeartWise program, wearables are helping patients stick to cardiac rehabilitation programs.
Sebastian Seung, Samsung chief research scientist, said AI is the future of personalized healthcare, highlighting the company’s seven AI research centers globally. Data will stay on the device rather than going to the cloud, he said, to protect privacy.
The home is evolving beyond a place for shelter and mechanisms into a “living organism,” said Federico Casalegno, senior vice president. Sensors, AI and robotics will make decisions on their own according to consumers’ needs and values, he said. The technology will become more complex, but life will be simpler for consumers. A robot vac will sense when a floor is dirty and clean it, Casalegno said, and a smart thermostat will automatically set users' preferences for comfort and energy conservation.
A presenter demonstrated Samsung’s GEMS (Gait Enhancing and Muscle Strengthening) system in a wearable worn around the waist and legs. A video showed a virtual personal assistant guiding the presenter through exercises; after the one-on-one training session, she was given professional feedback on the exercises. GEMS can also suggest a post-exercise meal and recipes.
Smart cities are in Samsung’s vision of the future. Emily Becher, Samsung Next International managing director, cited the need for building design and transportation changes to address the 70 percent of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2030. Sensors in buildings will detect vulnerable water pipes before they burst, she said. Road sensors will detect construction and dangers to prevent traffic delays or collisions. Others at CES also spoke about smart cities (see 2001060045).
Residents in multi-dwelling rental units will have individualized control over their environments in an MDU version of the smart home, Becher said: 5G, edge computing and AI will combine to improve transportation. Cities will connect with each other in new ways, she said.
Kim underscored Samsung’s data and privacy efforts in the connected age of experience, citing “transparent data management” enhanced by on-device AI, edge computing and blockchain technology. Consumers will have control over their data, he said. Samsung “will never share data with third parties without prior and direct consent.”