Re-Imagining Street Art

Samsung invited over 80 journalists, influencers and partners to the celebratory opening of the exhibition at the pop-up gallery of famous New York street artist ELLE, one of the top street artists in the world. Facilitated by AR, ELLE’s works extended beyond the walls they lay, with visitors able to walk right through the art. Samsung installed Galaxy S9+ smartphones with the specially-designed “re:imagine street ARt app” in the gallery for users to experience the fascinating combination of urban art and augmented reality. Additionally, Samsung lifestyle TV The Frame provided detailed displays of ELLE’s collages.

“We created ‘re:imagine street ARt’ so that everybody can experience Samsung technology in new and exciting ways. Here in Berlin, we’re showing that technology is not only about consumption and lifestyle, but also about culture and creativity. Using our mobile devices, we make a colorful world accessible which wouldn’t be possible without this technology” said Martin Börner, Deputy President at Samsung Electronics GmbH.

Captivating Visitors

Tim Renner, an author and renowned music producer as well as former Secretary for Cultural Affairs of the city of Berlin, was the host of the evening. Together with 3D motion designer Robert Werner, he discussed with the audience how the digital world can transform classic art forms. Artists Pichiavo, Mario Mankey, Tape That and exhibition partner The Dixons were also in attendance.

Guests were impressed with the digital edge Samsung brought to the street artists’ work. “The Art Labs offer a new approach to art and allow the visitor to perceive both the space and the surroundings. It is a forward-looking concept for immersing oneself in the art world with the help of VR. The possibility to move around in the art environment and to engage with it in a playful way inspired me,” said Instagrammer Michael Koller (herr_pola_roid).

Street Art and AR Take Berlin

Passers-by could also discover further Street Art and AR combinations outside of gallery. ELLE and Innerfields had designed large Samsung murals in the city center of Berlin, which would animate as soon as visitors pointed their smartphone camera and the “re:imagine street ARt” app at them. Moreover, famous Berlin sights such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, the Victory Column and the Berlin Cathedral could be experienced in full interactive “Street ARt” splendor with the help of the app. “It’s exciting to see the new perspectives opened up by the interplay of technology and art,” said Melina Grundmann from media company Deutsche Welle.

More information about the artists and their works is available at: http://www.reimagine-streetart.de

Summary

• In spring and summer 2018, Samsung Electronics Germany (SEG) ran a series of Coding Class Trips in collaboration with the Technology Foundation Berlin
• School classes from all over Germany applied for the program by submitting their ideas for workshops, six of which were selected for the pilot project
• The idea is to use these field trips as the students’ first serious interaction with coding in order to spark interest, give programming real-world context and transfer it into the school environment

With the digital revolution in full swing, how should we prepare for a digital future and decide what form should it take? One aspect is education. Preparing the next generation requires helping them understand everyday technologies and learn the skills to use technologies to their advantages. While coding is regarded as a necessity for a basic understanding of the digital world, teachers often lack the time and materials required to do this. That’s why Samsung Electronics and Technology Foundation Berlin created Coding Class Trips.

As part of the workshops on their field trips the kids received a “Samsung Code Week Box” which contained coding equipment

During the six pilot workshops, children were given time to explore coding and to learn programming through real-world problems. For example, during one Class Trip to Usedom on the Baltic Sea, the children investigated the impact of waste on the environment. They built weather-sensitive robots from recycled products which could swim, dive and avoid obstacles.

Students from Berlin WIR Elementary School testing their swimming robot in the Baltic Sea

On another trip to the North Sea island of Wangerooge, the main topic was renewable energy. Children experimented by building their own windmills out of plastic bottles and so were able to combine their first coding experience with a major socio-political issue.

On the North Sea island of Wangerooge, the children built small windmills from plastic bottles

By putting children’s first coding experience into a specific context, Samsung Electronics Germany and Technology Foundation Berlin have created a unique project that will inspire the younger generation to discover the potential of digital technologies in the long-term.

“The Coding Class Trips offer a terrific opportunity for students to get out of the classroom, get motivated to learn coding, and get creative through problem solving and encountering new technologies and skills,” explains Steffen Ganders, Director of Corporate Affairs, Samsung Electronics Germany. “At Samsung, we are committed to the future of digital education. Our project is a paradigm for a new education culture and highlights that learning should not be limited to the classroom.”

For more information on what happened in the Coding Class Trips, please visit the social hub site here.

Video

Youtuber RobBubble joined the Coding Class Trip to Wangerooge

Additional Images

Kids on the Coding Class Trip in Dresden programmed their own sensor Olympic Games

The class from Wedding School Berlin proudly present the robot, which can move, play music, shine light from his eyes and has a sound-controlled abdominal valve that can be used as a storage space

Samsung Electronics GmbH has launched a campaign with German soccer star Oliver Kahn to promote its smart TVs ahead of the start of the upcoming soccer season. Oliver Kahn, the former goalkeeper, football expert and entrepreneur, is the new face of Samsung’s QLED TV, and representative of the new ways in which sports fans can enjoy the digital soccer experience, right from the comfort of their living room.

In addition to serving as brand ambassador for Samsung, Kahn features in his new Goalplay app available exclusively on Samsung’s QLED TVs. The app helps users discover soccer content across a range of sources on the TV, from broadcast to streaming video on demand (VOD). It also offers insights from Kahn such as goalkeeping tips and match analysis.

With true-to-life picture quality, a beautiful design that provides both an ambient viewing experience and the freedom to be put wherever users want it, as well as smart features that make accessing and discovering content easier, the QLED TV was built with the user’s lifestyle in mind. Exclusive content such as Goalplay only adds to these features, opening up even more possibilities for the future of TV entertainment.

“The QLED TV’s Smart Hub interface is one of the most mature on the market, and the One Remote Control makes navigating the platform incredibly intuitive,“ said Oliver Kahn, CEO of Goalplay. “As someone who enjoys watching television, I find this to be a key criterion in addition to picture quality and design. That’s why I decided to launch my new app exclusively on Samsung’s QLED TVs.”

The Goalplay app will be launched on Samsung’s QLED TVs from the beginning of 2017/18 season in Germany this summer.

Source : Germany Newsroom

Martin Böker, B2B Director, Samsung Electronics Germany

Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), digitization will soon become tangible – taking the form of connected “things“ of all kinds. Technological advancements in the realm of hardware as well as the development of key technologies such as miniature RFID chips have paved the way for this new stage of digital transformation. In addition, the widespread introduction of 5G will lead to the exchange of mobile data at high speeds. For businesses, that is good news: not only can they become more agile and streamline their processes, this new infrastructure also enables them to develop and implement entirely new business models. The following five hypotheses elaborate on that.

IoT Requires Openness and Security

The IoT will require open standards across all industries, which is why we advocate for transparent R&D work and support open platforms. We also work very closely with our global partner network to achieve that openness.¹ However, IoT ecosystems that are based on interoperability and openness will also demand robust security. The higher the number of devices that are connected to a network, the greater the vulnerability for being hacked. With stricter penalties looming on the horizon, as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will sharpen the consequences for data protection violations, it is imperative that every professional IoT solution be paired with a well-founded security concept that includes proactive security systems as well as robust security platforms.

“Open Economy” is on its Way

The success of mobile devices and the interconnectedness brought about by the IoT are important drivers behind the overall transformation towards the so-called “Open Economy”. By 2020, 40 percent of employees will work on a self-employed basis.² Integrating these freelancers, as well as increasingly autonomous employees into business processes in a way that is effective and secure, is one of the biggest challenges that business must face going forward. After all, rigid office structures are increasingly obsolete: the “Open Economy” will be dominated by flexible schedules and office models. Furthermore, new forms of collaboration will evolve – not just with startups, but former competitors as well. To ensure that these new forms of cooperation are based on a swift exchange of data and knowledge without compromising the integrity of sensitive information, security architectures must be rooted deep in the hardware of mobile devices.

IoT is More than Just Efficiency

A recent study by the German IT industry association Bitkom³ revealed that most German businesses are currently undergoing a transformation process as a result of digitization. However, only 39 percent use the potential of digital technology to offer new products or services. Against this background, it seems important to emphasize that the businesses focusing solely on optimizing their processes and increasing efficiency may fail to recognize the IoT’s broader and more diverse potential. The IoT enables businesses to develop innovative products and services as well as data-driven business models – and thus helps them gain access to new markets. Making full use of these opportunities is not a matter for the future – it starts today. According to analysts and consulting firms, the IoT’s overall business potential is worth billions. For example, McKinsey⁴ estimates the IoT’s global economic value to be between 3.9 to 11.1 trillion dollars annually for 2025.

Cognitive Machine Learning Will Lead to More Comfort

The IoT era has the potential to bring users a new level of comfort and service, which will in turn impact consumers‘ future needs and expectations. The “smartness” and interconnectedness of utility objects – from the refrigerator to the car – will simplify our daily lives and result in new services that are not only convenient, but will save time as well as costs. It will also answer individual needs with much greater precision. In this context, the interoperability of devices as well as the learning aptitude of systems will become much more relevant for the development of IoT-based products and services. Just recently, Peugeot and Samsung teamed up and announced the “Peugeot Instinct Concept” – an internet-enabled concept car representing Peugeot’s take on the self-driving experience. It’s the first time a car has been enabled with a functional IoT platform, the SAMSUNG ARTIK Cloud, which seamlessly connects the car to the user’s cloud and thus to a full range of connected devices such as a smartphone, smartwatch or home automation system. This way, users can interact with their cars from any cloud-enabled device. On the other hand, the concept car can adjust its settings depending on other devices.

IoT Means Continuous Innovation

At Samsung, we regard it as our responsibility to contribute to the necessary groundwork for the IoT to be successful. Therefore, we will further expand our innovative capacity in the development of devices, components and software, and keep on optimizing them for the IoT era. Our aim is that, from 2020 onwards, almost all Samsung devices will be IoT-ready. For businesses, we offer a smart end-to-end platform for the IoT – SAMSUNG ARTIK – which equips them with the necessary hardware and software to develop their IoT solutions in-house, build their own prototypes in a cost-effective way and quickly bring new products and services to market. Together with our partners, we also continuously introduce new innovative solutions and will keep on doing so. It is our overarching goal to support businesses during their digital transformation in the best possible way, and to help them implement new technology concepts so they can make full use of the potential and innovations offered by the IoT.

1. As one of the founding members of the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC), Samsung also advocates for the development of common IoT standards

2. Open Economy Report, Samsung, March 2017: https://news.samsung.com/de/samsung-open-economy-report

3. Study: „Digitalisierung der Wirtschaft“, Bitkom, March 2017: https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/Digitalisierung-sorgt-fuer-mehr-Wohlstand-und-Wachstum.html

4. Internet of Things: Mapping the Value beyond the Hype“, McKinsey Global Institute, 2015: https://www.mckinsey.de/files/unlocking_the_potential_of_the_internet_of_things_full_report.pdf

The main characters are a teacher named Ms. Frizzle and her bright young students. Each book sees them embark on a different wild adventure that allows them to explore their every scientific curiosity. They’re aided by their magical, sentient school bus, which is able to change shape, shuttle them for field trips on distant planets, and even shrink down to a microscopic level.

If you read the books when you were young, you may have thought, “I wish I could go on those adventures, too.” Now, the VR Eduthon, an exciting collaboration between Samsung Electronics Germany and Cornelsen, a schoolbook publisher based in Berlin, is making that dream a reality, educating students while awakening their imagination.

“The Magic School Bus” children’s books have sold more than 15 million copies.

Samsung Electronics Germany and Cornelsen introduced the VR Eduthon to focus on biology education and provide students between seventh and ninth grades with practical and interesting lectures.

The main goal of the program is to improve the students’ educational environment. It was developed through cooperation with teachers, electronic-teaching-method specialists, VR developers and other experts. After its conclusion, Cornelsen will assess the program’s educational outcomes, sustainability in classrooms, and ultimate suitability.

After a brief introduction to the program, visitors were given a chance to experience a lesson for themselves with the help of a Samsung tablet and a Gear VR headset.

Visitors participate in the virtual learning experience.

The instructions were simple: two people pair up, and one holds the tablet while the other puts on the Gear VR. The Gear VR user is then presented with a number of vocabulary words for human digestive organs, accompanied by vivid animations of how they function when we consume food.

When the user shifts his or her gaze toward another word, they’re shown its related animation. Meanwhile, on the tablet, the principles of the digestive system are explained in more depth. After concluding each stage, the users then test what they’ve learned with a quiz.

For Anastasia, a tenth-grade student, the program was a first introduction to virtual-reality technology.

“Studying biology through the Gear VR was a very cool and new experience,” she said after participating in the event. “I’ve never tried anything like it before. It felt much easier and more fun to learn, and most of all, it was easy to understand and remember the content because I saw it with my own eyes. I want to use VR in my class to study as soon as possible!”

Speaking afterward on his personal involvement with the project, Mark van Mierle, CEO of Cornelsen, said, “I was very satisfied and pleased to work with Samsung Electronics. Going forward we’ll put more effort into developing various content, applicable to actual education sites.”

“If space and time can be recreated through the VR Eduthon,” he continued, “students will be able to access a completely different studying experience than before. After thoroughly evaluating these newly developed educational methods, we’ll be able to provide them with better educational programs.”

Steffen Ganders, who is in charge of citizenship at Samsung Electronics Germany, echoed the importance of creating engaging educational tech. “Our goal is to develop a digital solution to enhance the quality of school education,” he said. “Revolutionary VR technologies can help us cover complex subjects easily. This is why we believe that VR will contribute true value to education going forward.”

The popular saying “seeing is believing” suggests that experiencing something for yourself is a more effective study method than simply accepting someone’s word as fact. With VR devices, students will be able to experience firsthand a wide range of concepts that they’ve studied in school, all while learning in a fun and engaging manner.