As people become increasingly more health-focused, tech industry realized the value in pursuing projects that help individuals monitor their health and fitness. Principal Engineer Jinwoo Song from Samsung Research’s Data Research Team explained how Samsung Health Stack project helps developers and engineers optimize app development and more.

Q1. What does Samsung Health Stack do and what benefits does it ultimately provide?

Samsung Health Stack is an open source project that provides help in conducting research related to digital health using wearable devices, developing applications needed and creating tools for backend server and analysis in Android and Wear OS environment. By utilizing Samsung Health Stack, IT developers and engineers can save time and cost needed for developing the right environment, and researchers can focus more on conducting research studies that utilize new digital data. I believe that such convenience for development will be a great foundation for various forms of digital health care research and new data-based technologies.

Q2. What was the focus of the open source when designing Samsung Health Stack?

We designed it by analyzing the user experience of everyone involved in healthcare research so that the solution can accommodate the entire process of recruiting participants, collecting data and analyzing data. When there were some difficulties during the course of the development, we found solutions through health care-related cooperation with many research institutions.

In addition, we made effort to provide the structure that can continue to be scaled up to handle new forms of data and devices that become the interest of digital health researchers. In particular, we’ve designed the structure so that only certain necessary parts can be selected and expanded for use in order to enable application in various cases that go beyond clinical research, such as the area of care, etc.

Q3. What do you think the direction of development will be going forward for data-based health-care technologies?

Due to the technological advancement including AI, and the transition to aging society, the digital technology that centers on consumers and data is becoming more important in the field of health care. In order to respond to such changes, it is important to have the capability to safely manage and precisely analyze various data on users.

We believe that a world in which everyone will be able to receive customized, optimal health care solutions with data on users’ everyday life will come in the future. We’ll continue to make effort to develop technologies and products to make this possible, and we look forward to seeing many developers participate in this effort.

In order to create the best product experience, Samsung’s One UI platform offers a simple and intuitive interface across all of its devices, putting the user at the center of its unified device experience. Content Strategist Josh Ross from Samsung’s Core UX Group of MX Business shared the inspiration behind One UI and how it was created with users in mind.

Q1. What is One UI and what experiences does it provide to users?

One UI is the unified platform for Samsung Galaxy products, from phones and tablets to watches and Galaxy Books. It creates a single, seamless experience that empowers users to get the most from their Samsung products.

Q2. To create an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for users, One UI adheres to four key principles: simplicity, effortlessness, consistency and authenticity. Can you explain why these principles are important for development of One UI and how you think this enhances the mobile experience for users?

You need principles so you can be sure your design is heading in the right direction. We’ve chosen these four principles because they put the focus on the user, which is what we always want to do. Simplicity helps users focus on what matters. Effortlessness means that you don’t have to struggle to get things done. Consistency means that things work the way you expect them to, which helps to make things effortless. And authenticity is about creating experiences that feel natural, like a part of your own self-expression. When these principles come together, the result can be very powerful but also subtle. You don’t always notice all the work that goes into the design, and that’s actually good. The best design is almost invisible.

Q3. Why are partnerships an essential part of One UI? What are the benefits of partnerships for One UI development?

Partnerships are a huge part of the One UI experience. As good as Samsung is, we need the insight and expertise of others to deliver the best experience to users. Partnerships make apps like SmartThings and Samsung Wallet possible, so that you can do amazing things like control your car or your lights, make payments, board an airplane and so much more, right from inside One UI. Partnerships enrich our Samsung Health content with fitness expertise about everything from sleep coaching to body composition to mindfulness. Partnerships add flavor to your chats with GIFs from Giphy and Tenor, stickers, fun camera features on Snapchat and much more. Partnerships like the Global Goals app, a collaboration between Samsung and the UN, help bring awareness to important causes.

We want to empower our users to do things the way they want, with the apps and services they love. Partnerships are a huge part of that.

Q4. Going forward, what are some things users can expect from Samsung’s One UI?

We have a lot of things we’re announcing at SDC this year, so I don’t want to give everything away, but you can always expect further refinement and improvement. We look at everything from icons and animations to how you organize and find things and so much more. We’re learning more and more from our users about how the foldable experience changes things, so keep looking for exciting developments in the area of unique features for the Galaxy Flip and Galaxy Fold.

Samsung has also partnered with HealthTap to provide telemedicine services through its Smart TVs. Samsung’s Tizen, an open-source operating system, helped developers optimize the service for use on Smart TVs. Sean Park, Senior Product Manager from the Experience Planning Group of Visual Display Business, explained more about accessing telemedicine through Samsung’s Smart TVs.

Q1. How did Tizen help with the development of this service?

Samsung Electronics’ smart operating system (OS) Tizen provided the grounds for easy navigation on the large screen display. Tizen is very quick to deploy as evidenced by what we were able to achieve in three months’ time.

Q2. What are the benefits of accessing telemedicine services through Samsung Smart TVs?

Everything nowadays has gone remote. We want to provide Samsung users with a more convenient way to access medical care, which is telemedicine.

Samsung’s collaboration with HealthTap allows you to see a doctor through a large screen from the comfort of your home, creating a more immersive telehealth experience. If you want to access services including mental health counseling, you can do that with Samsung Smart TVs. For those who are a bit older and whose vision makes it difficult to use a small mobile screen, or for those who need to hold small children while consulting a doctor, they can easily access telehealth services through Samsung Smart TVs. We want everyone to be able to easily see a doctor from home, which we believe is not only convenient but necessary.

Ultra-wideband technology (UWB) has been recently gaining more and more attention in the smart device industry. Principal Engineer Haeyoung Jun from Samsung Research’s Standards Research Team talked about the importance of standardization of UWB and how it could shape the future of the industry.

Q1. What is the role of the FiRa Consortium that Samsung Electronics established in 2019 with key industry players, and what specific activities does it do?

The FiRa Consortium develops the interoperability standard and certification program to enable consumers to use services powered by Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in smart devices across devices made by different manufacturers.

After the FiRa Consortium was initially established by only a few companies, including Samsung Electronics, there are now more than 115 member companies participating in defining the interoperability standard together. Furthermore, FiRa is exploring various applications that utilize UWB, and is cooperating with multiple standard organizations across various industry verticals for the standardization of these applications.

Q2. We’d like to know why UWB technology is gaining attraction again recently and how it is moving forward.

As many service providers and manufacturers investigate use scenarios utilizing relative location information obtained by direct communication among devices without heavy infrastructures, the barrier to implementing UWB technology and applications have been lowered. Along with Samsung Electronics, global companies are also implementing UWB into their devices. As the number of UWB enabled products increases in the market, there will be motivation to install UWB infrastructures as well. We anticipate that, if just one or two game-changing UWB applications emerge in the market, the UWB ecosystem will expand rapidly.

Q3. We’d like to know what the new era of wireless communications envisioned through UWB technology standardization would look like in detail.

UWB technology allows your own devices to detect the location, including distance and direction, of other UWB devices in proximity. It also enables the secure data transactions among devices as well as secure internal interfaces, therefore UWB can provide different type of location-based services that GPS is unable to. For instances, UWB brings the same effect as tagging NFC to a reader even with the smartphone placed in a pocket or bag. With the standardized UWB technology, consumers will be able to access new convenient services across multiple verticals.

“We’re proud and excited to see the rapid growth of the SmartThings Find service. In less than two years, 200 million devices have opted in to help fellow Samsung Galaxy users find their misplaced devices — making it one of the fastest growing services at Samsung,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ MX (Mobile eXperience) Business. “Losing a device can be stressful, but SmartThings Find makes it easier to quickly locate and recover your device. It’s just one example of how a connected ecosystem of devices creates meaningful experiences for Samsung Galaxy users all over the world.”

As a rapidly growing location service, SmartThings Find enables Samsung Galaxy users to quickly locate registered Samsung Galaxy devices — from smartphones, tablets, watches and earbuds to personal belongings such as keys or your wallet that have a Galaxy SmartTag or SmartTag+¹ device attached. SmartThings Find leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) technology² to locate your item. If your device is outside of your phone’s range, other nearby Samsung Galaxy users who have opted into SmartThings Find can help you locate it. If you grant SmartThings Find permission, SmartThings Find can also alert users that they have left their device behind.

Ensuring the security of sensitive information like location data is a top priority for Samsung. SmartThings Find encrypts user data and keeps it protected by the defense-grade security platform, Samsung Knox. A device’s location data is only revealed to other people with the user’s permission and the ID of each user’s device changes every 15 minutes and is stored anonymously. SmartThings Find also helps users identify unknown SmartTags that follow them for a certain period of time.

▲Search for unknown tags in the SmartThings Find App.

To find out more about SmartThings Find, visit SmartThings Find website.

About SmartThings:

SmartThings is the premier technology enabling connected living and driving the future of IoT. Its open platform already supports thousands of devices across hundreds of brands and offers endless possibilities to innovators and developers seeking seamless connectivity in a vast IoT ecosystem. The company is committed to bringing smart functionality and capabilities everywhere consumers want to be, while enhancing the user experience. There are currently millions of people in more than 200 countries accessing SmartThings technology daily to create automations and control facets of their smart homes via the SmartThings App and through a range of Samsung products such as phones, TVs and digital appliances. SmartThings offers the most flexible amount of protocols, including the new IoT standard, Matter. Launched in 2012, SmartThings is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and is a founding board member of Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining and delivering open, global standards for the IoT. For more information, please visit www.smartthings.com.

¹ SmartTag is available for all Samsung Galaxy smartphones, tablets and other devices running Android 8 or later.
SmartTag+ is available on UWB-equipped devices Galaxy S22+ and Ultra, S21+ and Ultra, Note20 Ultra, Z Fold2 and Z Fold3.

² UWB-equipped devices only

The Future of Smart Car Keys With UWB

UWB is a wireless technology that allows your smartphone to connect and communicate directly with your car. Once a digital key is registered, the GV60 can identify authorized Galaxy devices and unlock the doors as they approach.

Travel Light With Digital Key on Samsung Pass

Digital key is available through Samsung Pass, a system for storing digital signatures, IDs and passwords. Later this year, we are excited to expand this service to Samsung Wallet, which will also allow users to securely store and manage digital IDs, boarding passes, vouchers and credit cards on their phone.² It helps you keep everything you need to get through the day in one, safe, practical and convenient place.

To use a digital key on your smartphone:

• Install and open up the Genesis Connected Service app in the car.
• Select “Vehicle” menu on the infotainment system.
• Select the “Digital Key” menu on the screen, and “Register” on your Genesis Connected app.

That’s it! Samsung Pass should start automatically registering the key in both apps.

Now, you can leave your car keys at home.

Unlock New Ways of Starting Your Car

Depending on your car’s settings, there are two ways to unlock your car using UWB. You can open your car door by pressing the door handle while your phone is in your bag or pocket, or you can automatically unlock it simply by approaching the car with your smartphone.³ Both ways can be used interchangeably, so you can always choose the option that makes life easier.

Users can also enjoy some helpful features remotely on their phone, like honking the horn or starting the car, before entering the vehicle by pressing the engine button in Samsung Pass.

Share Your Digital Key With Family and Friends

What about when someone needs to borrow your car? You can choose to share your digital key with three of your contacts by selecting them from a list and clicking ‘Send digital key’. This will send a text message that guides them through setting up a digital key on their Galaxy smartphone. Once you share the key, the recipient can start using it immediately by adding it to their Samsung Pass. You can even control how long they have access to the key, and revoke access when needed.

Users can enjoy peace of mind knowing that their digital key is secure, thanks to the high-level security chipset protecting Samsung Pass. The app’s authentication process ensures you always have control over who can borrow your car key, and when.

At Samsung, we believe that all of our users deserve the convenience of a more digital lifestyle. That’s why we continue working to expand our digital key services through innovative collaborations with global car companies. Our goal is to increase the number of smartphone devices that support digital keys powered by UWB technology.

¹ Devices supporting the digital key powered by UWB technology: Galaxy S22+, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold3, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold2, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (7 devices total)

² Timing and availability of features and services described in this release may vary by market and model and are subject to change.

³ Unlock by approaching is optional.

At its Galaxy S21 Unpacked event earlier this year, Samsung announced a series of partnerships with automakers. The Genesis GV60 will become the first vehicle to showcase the innovative new technology when it launches in September, starting in Korea.

Samsung’s digital key is powered by advanced UWB technology, a short-range, wireless communication protocol that uses radio waves to operate, much like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. However, UWB transmits radio waves at a much higher frequency, enabling highly accurate spatial awareness and directional capabilities that allow mobile devices to understand their surroundings better.

UWB enables passive entry, so you can say goodbye to digging through your pockets and bags in search of your keys. You’ll be able to lock and unlock your car, start the engine, open the trunk and even activate personalized settings like adjusting your seat and mirror position before you enter the car — all through your smartphone and without pushing a button. If you’re lending your car to a friend or family member for a short period, you can easily share the digital key and even set a time limit on how long the shared key will be available to them.⁴

The solution uses Samsung’s embedded Secure Element (eSE), designed to protect your most sensitive information and encryption keys, so you never have to worry about your keys falling into the wrong hands. The precision of UWB technology also stops potential relay attacks, where the radio signal is jammed or intercepted. Samsung’s digital key is fully compliant with the digital key standard as defined by the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), in which Samsung has been one of the driving members.

“We are proud to partner with Genesis as part of our mission to create exciting new mobile experiences that can make people’s everyday lives easier,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “As we continue to drive advancements in mobile technology like UWB, our priority is now to bring these new experiences to as many people as possible, in collaboration with our trusted ecosystem partners.”

“GV60 will set the bar for luxurious electric vehicle representing the electrification of the Genesis brand,” said Albert Biermann, President and head of R&D division at Hyundai Motor Group. “The partnership with Samsung Electronics will strengthen our efforts to provide truly differentiated experiences for our customers to interact with Genesis vehicles.”

Samsung’s digital key will be available in NFC and UWB with the Genesis GV60 initially in Korea by the end of this year. The UWB digital key is compatible with Galaxy S21+ and Ultra, Note20 Ultra and Z Fold2 and 3. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com/levant/apps/samsung-pass/ or www.genesis.com/worldwide/en/models/luxury-suv-genesis/gv60/highlights.html.

About Genesis

Genesis is a global luxury automotive brand that delivers the highest standards of performance, design, safety and innovation while looking towards a more sustainable future. Genesis designs customer experiences that go beyond products, embodying audacious, progressive and distinctly Korean characteristics within its unique “Athletic Elegance” design identity. With a growing range of luxury models — including the G90, G80, G70, GV60, GV70, and GV80 — Genesis aims to lead the age of electrification by focusing on a dual electrification strategy involving fuel-cell and battery EVs, starting with its G80 and GV60 electric models. Genesis has stated its commitment to becoming a 100% zero emission vehicle brand by 2030 and to pursuing carbon neutrality by 2035. Since its initial launch in Korea, Genesis has emerged in key global markets including North America, Europe, China, Australia, Russia, and the Middle East, establishing a strong relationship with customers around the world. For more information, please visit the official website at https://www.genesis.com.

¹ Eligible Galaxy smartphone with Android OS R and above

² Digital key feature will be available within this year.

³ Digital key is shared via Samsung Pass app. Those who do not have Samsung Pass app on the device should install Samsung Pass app prior to use. Key sharing is only available in eligible Galaxy smartphones with Android R and above. UWB is only available in Galaxy S21+ and Ultra, Note20 Ultra and Z Fold2 and 3.

⁴ Digital key is shared via Samsung Pass app. Those who do not have Samsung Pass app on the device should install Samsung Pass app prior to use. Key sharing is only available in eligible Galaxy smartphones with Android R and above. UWB is only available in Galaxy S21+ and Ultra, Note20 Ultra and Z Fold2 and 3.

Now, a next-generation wireless communications technology called ultra-wideband (UWB) has emerged and promises to permeate users’ lives and change the way the world connects.

Samsung Newsroom sat down with the Standards Research Team from the Advanced Communications Research Center at Samsung Research – engineers who have provided communications technology leadership and set the standard for UWB – to learn about the progress they have made so far and what they believe the future holds for UWB technology.

UWB – Opening Up a New World of Connectivity

Struggling to pass through a subway turnstile while carrying something, arriving home to find you’ve forgotten your key, or having to wait for your computer to start up before you can complete an urgent task – what if these inconveniences could all be reconciled with a single solution? Well, that is precisely the convenience that UWB technology stands to bring to our lives with its ability to utilize distance information between devices.

More wireless services than we realize connect us to peripheral devices and facilities. Some services use near field communication (NFC) technology, which exchanges wireless data over a short distance, but in most cases a mobile phone or card must be taken out of your pocket and touched to an NFC reader directly.

UWB, a broadband communications technology, removes the inconvenience of having to make physical contact by using very short-wavelength signals to measure precise distances as well as transmit data. UWB enables distance measurement that is precise down to the centimeter and has a smaller margin of error than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. In addition, this technology can limit the distance measurement function to pre-authorized devices, minimizing the risk of malicious hacking attempts.

Principal Engineer Haeyoung Jun of the Standards Research Team, Advanced Communications Research Center, Samsung Research

Speaking about the benefits of UWB technology, Haeyoung Jun of the Standards Research Team remarked that, “UWB’s precise distance measurement and locating capabilities will bring a new paradigm to a variety of industries, including smart homes, cities, mobility, retail and buildings.”

Global Standardization Expertise Brings New Life To Forgotten Technology

UWB technology was developed decades ago, but it is only recently that it has begun garnering real attention within the industry. Though UWB has faced limitations in terms of data transmission, services that harness the technology’s distance measurement capabilities have now proliferated, bringing UWB and the unique features it offers into the spotlight. In this climate, Samsung Electronics has refined UWB technology by taking a close look at factors such as consumer experiences and service convergence.

During this process, the biggest hurdle that Samsung faced was the establishment of the necessary infrastructure. UWB is a technology that focuses on the connectivity between devices, meaning that close collaboration with industry stakeholders is key to its inception. The company concluded that global standardization would be a must for an open UWB ecosystem, however it proved far from easy to focus the industries’ attention on the ‘forgotten technology’ that was UWB. Still Samsung endured, confident as it was in the great potential that UWB offered. The company embarked on a protracted journey to establish a global organization for UWB standardization, utilizing expertise it had established over more than 20 years of work in the global standardization sphere.

Kangjin Yoon (left), YeonJu Lim (second from left), Haeyoung Jun (middle), Sungkyu Cho (second from right) and Sooyeon Jung (right) of the Standards Research Team, Advanced Communications Research Center, Samsung Research

The journey to realize global UWB standardization began in 2018. Although many corporations initially had doubts over the technological feasibility of UWB, Samsung Electronics was steadfast in its efforts to persuade them. Jun recalls, “We initially spent time outlining our plans for numerous global companies, sharing Samsung’s vision for the development of UWB technology. Finally, in January of 2019, in a small conference room at the CES exhibition hall in Las Vegas, the relevant industry leaders in devices, chipsets and service areas gathered and agreed to establish a global coalition for UWB standardization. Thus, the “FiRa” (Fine-Ranging) Consortium was born.”

With its contingent of strong supporters, the UWB global standardization movement proceeded to go from strength to strength. The Consortium, which began as a collection of just three companies, has now grown to include more than 50 global corporations from across a range of industries that deal in areas such as chipsets, door locks, smartphones and software solutions. Jun relates that, “With new members joining the Consortium all the time, we’ll continue to deliver a robust ecosystem where UWB is applied in a broad context.”

What It Means To Work at the Forefront of Standardization

Presently, the industry has reached a consensus that UWB is the most optimal technology for measuring the distance between devices. This is the result of the efforts of the Standards Research Team and related teams in persistently making the case for UWB technology. After successfully rolling out UWB technology on its devices (the new Galaxy Note20 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold2), Samsung Electronics has opened up a new era of wireless communication.

Staff Engineer Mingyu Lee of the Standards Research Team, Advanced Communications Research Center, Samsung Research

Now that standardization has been agreed upon by the necessary industrial players, those parties have a great responsibility to see that the process is seen through so that everyone may benefit. Mingyu Lee says, “We are working systematically and consulting experts to ensure fair competition and continued growth in the industry. As the process progresses, we are also gaining valuable experience by collaborating with colleagues from a broad range of disciplines.”

Jieun Keum (left), Gyubong Oh (second from left), Kook-heui Lee (middle), Mingyu Lee (second from right) and Sehee Han (right) of the Standards Research Team, Advanced Communications Research Center, Samsung Research

As they work towards pioneering a whole new market together, the Consortium members both cooperate and engage in spirited debate. Sehee Han explains, “I have actually had meetings with professionals who authored textbooks that I studied in university and debated with renowned open source code developers. As a result of these experiences I have realized that standardization is not about pursuing victory, but rather is a protracted journey towards reaching the consensuses that will allow us to create better technologies and products.”

Embarking Along the Untrodden Path and Showing the Way

In our everyday lives our queries are often met with open-ended answers, requiring us to strike out and find new ways forward. With this in mind, the Standards Research Team remains committed to blazing new trails into the unknown as they look to forge a pathway forward for UWB technology.

Principal Engineer Sehee Han of the Standards Research Team, Advanced Communications Research Center, Samsung Research

Jun says, “Having technological debates with top engineers from global corporations has been a great experience for the engineers of the Standards Research Team. Going forward, we will continue working to express our vision and develop solutions that are based on clear logic and grounded in the necessary values.”

As UWB technology takes its first steps, the team is staying focused on the positive changes the technology could deliver in the future. Han says, “We plan to broaden the scope of UWB standardization, implementing it first with digital key services and later with other services such as payment services, IoT device control solutions and location-based services.” He goes on to say, “Our work to broaden the UWB ecosystem will continue until devices and services that utilize UWB are much more portable and UWB technology becomes prominent.”