[New Samsung] Samsung set on getting smarter with IoT platform ‘SmartThings’

This is the second installment of a series of articles delving into new technologies Samsung Electronics is betting on for its new source of growth. -- Ed. 


One day after the announcement of the new leadership, Samsung Electronics’ outgoing Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun sent a grave message to his successors.

“The moment of being at the top, this might be the beginning of a crisis,” Kwon said at a ceremony held AT Samsung Electronics’ campus in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to mark the 48th anniversary of the company's foundation.

“Tremendous changes are expected in the next 10 years with rapidly changing artificial intelligence and Internet of Things industries and varying consumers’ needs” he said. “It is clear that working hard is not enough.”

Kwon’s remarks may inspire Koh Dong-jin, newly appointed chief executive officer of the mobile communications business.

Under Koh, Samsung is moving beyond mobile, for sure, with near-term plans to become an IoT platform operator.

At the Samsung Developer Conference last month in San Francisco, Koh unveiled his vision for Internet of Things, vowing to unite the ecosystems of mobile devices, home appliances and TVs.

“Now we’re taking a big step forward with our open IoT platform, intelligent ecosystem and AR capabilities,” said Koh at the conference. “Through an extensive open collaboration with our business partners and developers, we are unlocking a gateway to an expanded ecosystem of interconnected and intelligent services that will simplify and enrich everyday life for our consumers.”

Samsung is working to combine its IoT services under a single platform called “SmartThings” with an aim to seamlessly connect and control IoT-enabled products and services, Koh said. 

“SmartThings will be one of the world’s largest IoT ecosystems, which will provide the infrastructure for a connected consumer experience that is innovative, versatile and holistic,” he said.

Samsung currently has cloud service SmartThings, IoT controller Samsung Connect and IoT sensor module ARTIK.

The long-time hardware-oriented IT company is currently working to widen other companies’ access to its SmartThings cloud service and also to make its products and services compatible with others’.

Samsung has demonstrated Project Ambience, a small dongle that can be applied to a wide variety of objects, allowing them to seamlessly connect its AI platform Bixby.

The company says this new concept reflects the next generation of IoT, “Intelligence of Things,” combining IoT and AI.

Samsung is also seeking to make its home appliances and devices compatible with other brands‘ products.

The tech giant is currently developing products certified by the Open Connectivity Foundation, an industry group developing specification standards to connect devices made by different brands.

The OCF, which was set up in February last year, currently has around 300 member firms including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm and Electrolux.

Samsung’s premium air conditioners and refrigerators have already been certified by the OCF but they have not launched in the market yet. Its home appliances rival LG is also developing a smart refrigerator to get the OCF certification with the aim of completing it within this year.

“Samsung plans to demonstrate its home appliances connecting with LG’s during the Consumer Electronics Show early next year although the plan has not yet been fixed. If so, that will be the first technology demonstration among the OCF members,” said an industry source familiar with the matter.

If Samsung and LG‘s products can be compatible, this opens up the market up to more diverse smart home services, experts said.

“Currently, home service developers have to develop services separately for Samsung and LG as they use their own different software. When the connectivity through OCF becomes possible, the process will be simplified,” said Kim Hyun, head of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute’s IoT research division.

Beyond home appliances and devices, Samsung wants to expand the connection to automobiles, although it may take some time.

Early this year, the tech giant led an automotive project with the OCF members but the discussion made little progress as there is no automaker member in the OCF yet.

”It may not be easy for Samsung to have a grip on connected automobiles like they have on home appliances and devices. The alliance should have a bigger influence in the market if it wants to bring automakers in,” Kim said. 

By Song Su-hyun and Shin Ji-hye
(song@heraldcorp.com) (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)