With increasing popularity in research studies about future AI technology, there is an even higher expectation that AI will bring more value to our daily lives. On November 8 and 9, Samsung Electronics hosted the Samsung AI Forum 2022 to share the progress of AI research and explore more ways for the industry to advance. World-renowned scholars and experts who attended this year’s forum focused on hyperscale AI, an AI model that can evolve to the human level of thinking by processing massive amounts of data.

Samsung Newsroom met with Vice President Joohyung Lee at Samsung Research’s¹ Global AI Center to hear more about the main topics discussed during the second day of the forum, which Samsung Research hosted. Learn more about upcoming technology trends and the future vision of AI research introduced by Samsung Research in the infographic below.

As anticipation and competition ramp up around the development of 6G technology, Samsung Electronics is set to hold its first-ever Samsung 6G Forum on May 13. Under the theme of ‘The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All.’, leading global experts from academia and industry in the area of next-generation communications technologies will be discussing the future of those technologies that are set to drive significant changes.

In order to introduce some of the technologies being prepared by Samsung ahead of the upcoming Forum, Samsung Newsroom undertook a virtual roundtable with Samsung Research’s¹ leading experts in the field. Sunghyun Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center at Samsung Research, and Charlie Zhang, Senior Vice President at Samsung Research America, came together virtually to share some of their most recent research and breakthroughs within the 6G communications technologies, as well as what they anticipate the future of the field will look like. The virtual roundtable was moderated by Jaebum Park, researcher at Samsung Research’s 6G Research Team.

Read on to learn more about the groundbreaking work Samsung Research has been undertaking in order to prepare for the next generation of communications technologies.

Jaebum Park Welcome and thank you to both of you for joining this online roundtable. Firstly, as are all well aware, the competition surrounding the development of 6G technologies has steadily been increasing. After accomplishing the world’s first commercialization of 5G, Samsung is now working hard at its research and development (R&D) into 6G. Why is this 6G R&D so important?

Sunghyun Choi 6G is the next-generation communications technology that will bring huge changes to every aspect of our lives, as well as to various industries. It requires prolonged effort and investment to bring about. Samsung is striving to lead 6G R&D and standardization, with the goal of bringing next-level, hyper-connected experiences to our customers.

Park In July 2020, Samsung released a white paper entitled “The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All.” which outlined the company’s vision for 6G. Can you tell us more about the technologies Samsung currently is working on to realize this vision?

Choi 6G is expected to be characterized by ultra-wideband, ultra-low latency, ultra-intelligence and hyper-spatialization. Unlike communications technologies of previous generations, 6G is expected to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) technology. To this end, Samsung is developing a range of innovative solutions; an AI based technology that reduces power consumption at base stations, and a technology that utilizes AI at the receiver to compensate the signal distortion caused by the nonlinearity of a transmitter’s power amplifier and hence, can significantly improve the coverage and quality of high-rate data signals were both recently developed, for example. We have also seen growing demand for greater coverage.

In response to these requirements, Samsung proposes considering all available bands for 6G, from low-band under 1 gigahertz (GHz) to mid-band in the 1-24 GHz range and through to high-band in the 24-300 GHz range. We also need to consider the existing bands used for 3G, 4G and 5G networks. Higher bands tend to have a shorter transmission distance. In order to mitigate this issue, Samsung has developed solutions such as Cross Division Duplex (XDD) technology, whose standardization process is already underway, and is also pursuing the development of technologies such as Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS), which improves beam sharpness and can steer or reflect the wireless signal to a desired direction by use of a metamaterial surface.

The Samsung Research Advanced Communications Research Center in fact recently published a white paper, entitled “6G Spectrum: Expanding the Frontier” which includes ways to obtain the spectrum needed to achieve the company’s 6G vision. We are also closely working with leading global experts from academia and industry in the area of next-generation communications technologies.

Park The white paper lays out the company’s vision for securing global frequency bands for 6G. I have heard that Samsung Research America, along with Samsung Research and researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), recently managed to successfully demonstrate wireless communications in the terahertz (THz) band which is one of the candidate bands for 6G.

Charlie Zhang The THz spectrum covers from 100 GHz to 10 THz. Our team was responsible for building a proof-of-concept (PoC) prototype system able to demonstrate the potential of the THz spectrum, including related distance, data rate, RF (Radio Frequency) and baseband system capacity.

In collaboration with Professor Mark Rodwell’s research team at UCSB and the Samsung Research team based in Korea, in 2021, we succeeded in demonstrating 6G THz wireless communication with phased-array beamforming capability.

Even though we still have a long way to go to improve the performance, this achievement of phased-array beamforming at a long distance is an important milestone for THz research as it demonstrated the clear potential of the THz spectrum for future cellular communication.

Park The commercial launch of 6G is not expected to occur soon. However, the competition surrounding the development of 6G technologies has steadily been increasing. What would you characterize as Samsung’s unique advantages when it comes to developing these next-generation technologies?

Choi Samsung is a company that offers a wide variety of products, ranging from smartphones and base stations to chipsets – something that it is not at all common in the industry. Furthermore, in April 2019, Samsung was among the first to realize the commercialization of 5G. Samsung also has a strong track record of having led technology standardization with its partners for many years at the telecommunications standards organization that develops unified global standards for mobile telecommunications, the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

Zhang In order to accelerate the development process of the next generation telecommunications system to the point where it can become a commercial reality, development and utilization of various technologies are key, and at Samsung Research, we are very happy to see that many partners are joining us in these efforts. Samsung Research was one of the first research institutes in the world to publish a 6G vision white paper. Following on from our previous collaborations, we will continue, along with various partners, to identify key solutions in order to successfully commercialize 6G technology.

Park I understand that the standardization of 6G technology is expected to begin around 2025. Could you please introduce the standardization process and the work that needs to be done to successfully achieve 6G standardization?

Choi The future of communications technology will be defined by its ability to bring the next hyper-connected experience to all. Communications technologies enable human-to-human, human-to-machine and machine-to-machine connections. To connect different devices or machines, we need the same standard of communications across the board, and the process to set this standard is called ‘standardization.’ To standardize the communications technologies, the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), an agency of the United Nations, first defines the technical requirements, which is then followed by the work of organizations such as 3GPP to establish technical standards according to these requirements. The standard for a new generation of communications technology is developed through the process of submitting proposals and reaching the consensus among constituting members.

While it is essential to develop outstanding technologies, it is also important to form a consensus on 6G technologies in the standardization process. As part of this effort, Samsung is holding its first-ever Samsung 6G Forum on May 13, which will see leading experts from all over the world in the mobile communications field gather to discuss 6G.

Park Can you please elaborate more on what we can expect from Samsung’s first-ever 6G Forum?

Choi The upcoming Samsung 6G Forum will be a sphere within which the world’s top experts in the field can set the tone for the future of 6G. We are set to have presentations and panel discussions on the topic of 6G air interface in the morning, and will then hold presentations and panel discussions about AI-based intelligent networks for 6G in the afternoon. Anyone interested in 6G technologies is able to participate in the Forum through online pre-registration.

Zhang At the 6G Forum, Samsung will be demonstrating some of the 6G candidate technologies that it has been developing over the past three years, as well as the company’s vision for future technology development. Although there is still a long road ahead of us before we achieve 6G commercialization, I believe that the hyper-connected experiences across all areas of life that 6G is set to bring us will become a reality sooner rather than later by bringing together industry, academia and research experts regularly through the opportunities like Samsung 6G Forum.

Park These days, the term ‘6G’ is a commonly known one. The general gist of what the 6G era will bring includes communications speed increases and mobile-based virtual reality experiences, changes that will totally transform users’ daily lives. I am curious what you, as two leaders in 6G research and development, have to say about what the biggest changes are set to be for this era?

Choi From my perspective, the era of 6G is set to connect as many as 500 billion devices, resulting in the vehicles, appliances and even the buildings around us being connected to this super-fast communications network.

Samsung Research defines the biggest changes in three ways: firstly, services such as truly-immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile holograms and digital replicas will be possible. Secondly, the performance of telecommunications networks is set to improve greatly thanks to the implementation of AI technologies. Finally, the connected experience offered to users will be available anytime and anywhere, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and from the ground to the sky.

Zhang Even now, limited XR devices and services such as VR and AR exist and digital replication technology is already being harnessed in industrial IoT. However, the limitations of hardware devices and communications performance mean that the utilization of these technologies is not high. In a world where 6G technology is universal, those truly-immersive XR and high-fidelity mobile holograms, as once seen only in science fiction movies, will become possible. Furthermore, by bringing together the virtual and real worlds, it will become possible to safely and easily address problems encountered in the real world.

Park What are your thoughts on the future direction of and your goals for 6G technology research?

Zhang At Samsung Research America, we will focus on undertaking research into how to successfully commercialize 6G technology along with our partners. Along with our research into THz, we are planning to continue our research to improve high-capacity data transmission and latency and to simplify future network deployment. Research collaboration with industry and academia will continue to accelerate the realization of the 6G vision of providing next-generation hyper-connected experiences across all areas of life.

Choi The process of preparing for 6G commercialization that Samsung is working on is set to be a long and painstaking one, requiring a lot of hard work. This cannot be achieved by Samsung alone, and will require the collaboration of industries, academics and governments alike. We at Samsung intend to play a leading role in leading both innovation and collaboration.

Park I’d like to thank you both for your time today. Do you have any closing remarks you would like to share?

Zhang It has been an honor to speak with you today and introduce the efforts and vision of Samsung Research for 6G. While there are many challenges ahead, I agree with Dr. Choi that by continuing innovation and collaboration, we can definitely achieve the goal of bringing the next hyper-connected experience to every corner of life via 6G.

Choi The first step in moving towards our joint goal of realizing 6G will be taken at the Samsung 6G Forum, and we look forward to the interest and participation of many at the event.

If you are interested in pre-registering online to take part in the Samsung 6G Forum on May 13, you may do so by visiting the event website until the day of the event. As well as receiving event schedule updates, registered guests will also be able to leave questions on the website prior to each session.

The Samsung 6G Forum, divided into two sessions, will be broadcast live online via Samsung’s YouTube channel. Be sure to tune in on May 13 to learn more about the future of the hyper-connected experience, and stay tuned to Samsung Newsroom for all the latest news about 6G.

¹ Samsung Research, Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, leads the development of future technologies for the company’s Device eXperience (DX) Division.

But Samsung’s cutting-edge new foldable solutions couldn’t have been realized without the hard work and collaborative efforts of Samsung’s global network of engineers. Among other accomplishments, these employees were able to incorporate advanced technologies like AI to enable drawing and writing on the Galaxy Z Fold3’s large screen, and to allow the device to convert handwriting in a range of languages into on-screen text with S Pen.

To find out more about just what went into the development of the innovative new S Pen, Newsroom spoke to Olga Radyvonenko from the Visual Intelligence Team at Samsung Research Ukraine.

Q: Can you briefly introduce the Ukrainian Research Institute and the kind of work that goes on there?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the key technologies of our R&D center. Our lab is focused on bringing Samsung users human-centric AI technologies that make input and interaction easy and enjoyable.

Q: The S Pen has now been applied to the Galaxy Z Fold3, making it the first of its kind among foldable smartphones. What role did you play in this process?

The major contributions of our lab to the Z Fold3 were the development of on-device deep learning technologies for handwritten content recognition and the technology for reducing S Pen input latency that combines advances in graphics and AI.

Q: What is the S Pen Software Development Kit? What particular advantages does it bring?

The S Pen Software Development Kit (SDK) is being developed by Samsung researchers and developers from many countries around the world, and we are very proud to be part of this international team. The S Pen SDK provides ways to speed up rendering and to reduce and optimize S Pen input latency. In addition, it comprises smart AI-powered features, such as recognition of handwritten text, shapes, diagrams and handwriting straightening.

Q: Given the unique function of the S Pen on the Z Fold3, was there any function of the S Pen that was developed or expanded specifically for the foldable smartphone?

As the new Z Fold3 has a massive and unique foldable display, we’ve focused on using our AI technology to optimize the S Pen experience as well as improve the latency. Thanks to our point prediction technology powered by deep learning, we are able to predict the next movement of the S Pen to minimize the delay between input and output on the screen of the Z Fold3. This, in combination with the front buffer rendering technology and unique large screen, means that our users can enjoy the most natural handwriting, note-taking and drawing on their Z Fold3.

Q: How many languages does the S Pen now support? What were some of the difficulties of expanding the number of recognized languages for the Z Fold3’s S Pen?

At this moment, the S Pen supports 88 languages in total, 14 of which were newly added in the past year.

Adding a new language for handwriting recognition requires a lot of effort. In order to achieve the world’s best level of recognition quality and speed, we have developed an advanced AI technology. This technology is based on deep learning across millions of users’ samples and language modeling for natural language processing (NLP).

Q: Do you have any special tips for making the most out of the S Pen on the Z Fold3 to share with users?

For those who love writing by hand, the S Pen To Text feature now supports writing with the S Pen directly into text fields. The handwriting is then automatically converted to text. Also, you can edit any printed text with your S Pen – for example, when correcting spacing or inserting words.

One feature that will also interest many users is Neat Shape mode. It can help you to not only draw shapes, but also build a flowchart.

Make sure to check the Tips application and not skip usage tips – there you will discover the newest S Pen and input features, and also learn how to use many other Samsung apps to their fullest potential.

Q: Looking forward, what do you think the future of the S Pen looks like? How might it evolve?

We hope to introduce more ways to support better user experiences by providing even more personalization in the near future. Our mission is to make S Pen input like writing in your notepad with a pen, but better and smarter.

Most of all, I want for as many people as possible to experience the power and convenience of the S Pen and its handwritten input capabilities. It has the potential to enhance input on a wide range of devices. We view the S Pen not only as a cool gadget, but first and foremost as an accessible and useful tool. I hope I will see the S Pen and its features casually used in education, in the workplace and in everyday life. I do believe we are set to see a revolution in input technology.

The full interview video can be viewed here:

The second day of the event, hosted by Samsung Research, the advanced R&D hub of the company that leads the development of future technologies for Samsung Electronics’ Consumer Electronics division and IT & Mobile Communications division, facilitated discussion around how industry experts and academics alike can further research into AI technologies that directly impact and enhance the lives of all people. It was livestreamed on Samsung Electronics’ YouTube channel, providing opportunities for researchers and students in the AI field around the world to interact with world-renowned academics through Live Panel Discussions.

AI Forum Day 2: Exploring ‘AI’ in a Human World

Dr. Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research, began his opening speech by emphasizing that “Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing every single R&D area of Samsung Research. AI technology was thought impossible, but is now becoming a reality and makes people’s lives better.”

During his speech, which introduced Samsung Research’s various areas of AI research, Dr. Seung explained how on-device AI technology is enabling smartphone cameras to offer users new ways to express their creativity and manage other devices such as TVs and air conditioners. He also provided insights into other applications for AI technology, which includes enabling robot vacuums to automatically create indoor 3D maps, detect obstacles and clean a space accordingly.

Dr. Seung concluded his speech by describing his excitement to see what Samsung’s researchers would be presenting and inviting participants to follow Samsung Research’s Twitter account to learn more about the innovative research that the R&D hub is conducting.

Seung’s speech was followed by presentations from world-renowned AI experts who are leading research in their respective fields.

First, Professor Leslie Valiant of Harvard University, the recipient of the 2010 Turing Award – often referred to as the Nobel Prize of computing – delivered the day’s keynote lecture, entitled “How to Augment Supervised Learning with Reasoning”. Using robust logic as an example, Professor Valiant emphasized that combining supervised learning and reasoning should be a key focus for the next generation of machine learning technology.

Professor Valiant’s keynote was followed by a presentation from Professor Felix Heide of Princeton University. Professor Heide’s presentation, entitled “The Differentiable Camera”, discussed the camera technology that utilizes deep learning to enhance image quality.

Next, research scientist Been Kim of Google Brain delivered a presentation entitled “Interpretability for Skeptical Minds”, in which she shared the latest advancements in interpretable machine learning and proposed directions that this cutting-edge technology should be heading.

The last session of the day was led by Professor Max Welling, a research chair in machine learning at the University of Amsterdam and a Distinguished Scientist at Microsoft Research. During his presentation, entitled “Understanding Matter With Deep Learning”, Professor Welling shared why he is so excited about the scientific breakthroughs that will come from utilizing deep learning in molecular simulation.

Other highlights of Day 2 included a Lightning Talks session, which saw engineers from Samsung Research’s Global AI Center present some of their latest research, and a live panel discussion that was moderated by Dr. Daniel Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Samsung Research Global AI Center.

In case you missed it, you can watch a full replay of day two of the Samsung AI Forum 2021 by heading to Samsung Electronics’ YouTube channel.

Now in its fifth year, Samsung AI Forum serves as a platform that gathers leading experts to exchange the latest technology trends and research findings. The two-day event held on 1 and 2 November (KST) enabled participants to discuss applications of AI that will make a practical contribution to people’s daily lives. In this year’s AI Forum livestreamed on Samsung Electronics’ YouTube channel, there were opportunities for researchers and students in the AI field around the world to interact with world-renowned academics and experts through Q&A sessions.

Day 1 of Samsung AI Forum was hosted by Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), Samsung’s R&D hub dedicated to cutting-edge future technologies, under the theme, “AI Research for Tomorrow”.

Day 1 started with opening remarks from Dr. Kinam Kim, Vice Chairman & CEO of Device Solutions at Samsung Electronics, who spoke about the wide-reaching capability of AI to address pressing global issues.

“The advancement of AI is going beyond the electronics industry and expanding to various fields, such as basic science. We expect AI to provide solutions to social issues such as climate change and environmental pollution in the future, but there are still many challenges to tackle to make this possible,” said Dr. Kim.

He also shared his optimism that Samsung AI Forum will be a key venue for experts across the industry to start conversations and collaborate on AI as a means to help humanity on various fronts.

Shining a Spotlight on AI Leaders

Also on Day 1 of Samsung AI Forum, the company announced this year’s winners of the ‘Samsung AI Researcher of the Year’ awards. The awards were launched last year to discover rising AI researchers globally. The awards were presented by Dr. Gyoyoung Jin, President and Head of SAIT, who served as the co-chair for Samsung AI Forum.

This year’s awards went to Professor Diyi Yang (Georgia Tech), Professor Jacob Andreas (MIT), Professor Judy Hoffman (Georgia Tech), Professor Phillip Isola (MIT) and Professor Yarin Gal (Oxford).

“It’s an honor for me to receive the award presented by Samsung to young researchers in the AI field,” said Professor Phillip Isola of MIT. “I’ll put more effort to further develop the current AI system to realize AI that is close to natural intelligence,” he said. Professor Isola is one of the most prominent researchers in computer vision.

Expert Highlights: Keynote Speeches

The keynote on the first day of Samsung AI Forum was given by Professor Yoshua Bengio of University of Montreal, who also served as a co-chair of Samsung AI Forum and is a Samsung AI Professor. In his keynote, entitled GFlowNets for Scientific Discovery, Professor Bengio introduced AI algorithms used within scientific fields such as physics, chemistry and biology. He presented a new algorithm called GFlowNets, which is used to increase the prediction accuracy of experiment and test data.

The keynote lecture was followed by three technology sessions entitled Scalable & Sustainable AI Computing, AI for Scientific Discovery and Trustworthy Computer Vision. In these sessions, leading academics and startups spoke alongside some of Samsung’s top researchers.

Professor Kunle Olukotun of Stanford University in the U.S., who is the co-founder of a promising AI startup called SambaNova Systems, shared his insights on ultra-low power AI computing through an effective data flow architecture in his lecture, Accelerating AI with Dataflow Computing.

Professor Gerbrand Ceder of University of California – Berkeley, who is the founding director of the U.S. federal government-led Material Genome Initiative, which began ten years ago, gave his lecture on AI/Machine Learning in Material Research and the Laboratory of the Future. Professor Antonio Torralba of MIT in Massachusetts, U.S., gave his lecture, Learning to See.

From Samsung, multiple leading researchers, including Changkyu Choi, Senior Vice President and Head of SAIT’s AI & SW Research Center presented the progress and vision regarding Samsung’s research in the AI field. The speakers introduced various AI learning model developments and their applications, and suggested the memory-powered computing architecture, including engineering ultra-low power AI computing for processing AI models and big data.

In addition, founders of startups based in Silicon Valley, including Cerebras Systems shared their insights on business models for different AI research areas and future business strategies.

‘Samsung AI Forum 2021′ can be viewed again on Samsung Electronics’ YouTube channel, and Day 2 AI forum will be held on 2 November.

Stay tuned to Samsung Newsroom for more information on the Samsung AI Forum 2021.

Day 1: AI Research for Tomorrow

On Day 1, which will be hosted by Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), Samsung’s R&D hub dedicated to cutting-edge future technologies, Dr. Kinam Kim, Vice Chairman & CEO of Device Solutions at Samsung Electronics, will deliver the opening remarks. Under the theme, “AI Research for Tomorrow”, renowned AI experts will discuss various AI technologies and the research direction on AI — from fundamental research to its applications – including how AI research will impact other fields such as new material development and semiconductors.

This year, Professor Yoshua Bengio, the winner of the 2018 Turing Award — often referred to as the Nobel Prize in computing — will deliver the keynote. The keynote speech will be followed by three technology sessions: Scalable and Sustainable AI Computing, AI for Scientific Discovery and Trustworthy Computer Vision.

In particular, in this year’s forum, various AI startups will provide an overview of the current trends in cutting-edge AI technology and share their actual business application models. In addition, the AI research leaders at SAIT will participate in the forum as speakers and give presentations on the current status and vision of Samsung’s AI research.

The Samsung AI Researcher of the Year awards,¹ which were established last year in an effort to discover excelling rising researchers in the field of AI, will also be presented during the forum. Last year, five researchers including Professor Kyunghyun Cho of New York University were awarded.

As the co-chairs of this year’s forum, Dr. Gyoyoung Jin, President and Head of SAIT and Professor Bengio, who was appointed as the Samsung AI Professor last year, will continue to cooperate to highlight outstanding rising researchers and expand the base of AI research.

“This year’s forum will be organized as a venue for sharing the current status of AI technology research and AI applications as well as discussing ways to transform AI into a technology that substantially contributes to our daily lives,” said Professor Bengio.

Day 2: AI in a Human World

Day 2 sessions will be hosted by Samsung Research, the company’s advanced R&D hub that leads the development of future technologies for its Consumer Electronics division and IT & Mobile Communications division. Under the theme “AI in a Human World”, Dr. Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research, will deliver the opening remarks, and AI experts who have been actively engaging in AI research activities worldwide will share their insights on the current status of AI and future research directions that will have an important impact on our lives.

The keynote will be delivered by Professor Leslie Valiant, the 2010 Turing Award winner, of Harvard University on the subject of integrating machine learning and inference for next-generation AI. This will be followed by technology sessions: Interpretability for Skeptical Minds and Understanding Matter with Deep Learning.

Dr. Daniel Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Samsung Research Global AI Center, will preside over an in-depth panel discussion with the speakers regarding the ‘future prospects and considerations of each AI sector’.

Lightning talks (5-minute speeches, 7 sessions) will also take place this year where members of the Samsung Research Global AI Center and 5 AI centers (Cambridge, U.K.; New York, U.S.; Toronto, Canada; Montreal, Canada; and Moscow, Russia) will take part.

“This year’s AI Forum will help us better understand where the current AI technology developments are heading and also about AI applicable products which are becoming smarter,” said Dr. Sebastian Seung, President and Head of Samsung Research. “I expect that many people who are interested in AI will participate in the forum since it will be held as an online event this year.”

The event will be open to anyone who is interested in AI. Registration is available through the Samsung AI Forum 2021 Website from October 6 to the respective event dates.

Day 1 Session Speakers

“Scalable and Sustainable AI Computing” session by:

– Professor Kunle Olukotun, Stanford University

– Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras Systems

– Changkyu Choi, Corporate Senior Vice President of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT)

“AI for Scientific Discovery” session by:

– Professor Gerbrand Ceder, University of California, Berkeley

– Bryce Meredig, CSO of Citrine Informatics

– Young Sang Choi, Corporate Vice President of SAIT

“Trustworthy Computer Vision” session by:

– Professor Antonio Torralba, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

– Daniel Bibireata, Vice President of LandingAI

– Jae-Joon Han, Vice President of Technology of SAIT

Day 2 Session Speakers

“Interpretability for Skeptical Minds” session by:

– Been Kim, Research Scientist at Google Brain

“Understanding Matter with Deep Learning” session by:

– Professor Max Welling, Amsterdam University and Lab Head of Microsoft Research Amsterdam

¹ Samsung AI Researcher of the Year: selected among AI researchers of aged 35 or under (up to five researchers per year)

With 5G networks, a self-learning AI-based tool’s ability to manage operations and optimize performance offers clear benefits for mobile operators. That said, we believe that complementing such tools with human creativity and decision-making will help bring the technology’s enormous potential to reality. With this in mind, Samsung has developed an AI tool known as CognitiV Analytics, which can collaborate with human counterparts to help mobile operators resolve various issues related to managing 5G networks.

I’d like to share how Samsung’s latest human-AI collaborative tool helps mobile operators optimize services and manage 5G networks more effectively.

Quality and Collaboration Are Key

CognitiV Analytics represents a big step forward for 5G network management. The solution’s ability to swiftly identify technical issues and accurately analyze network quality stems from two key features. The first is its ability to analyze the performance and quality of services across entire networks, while the second is the collaboration it fosters with its human counterparts.

In order to properly analyze network performance, it requires the collection and evaluation of entire service flows for each and every user. For example, in order to determine the service quality that a subscriber is experiencing when streaming videos, mobile operators need to know how various elements of their 5G networks, including RAN and Core, are operating together, and whether any issues have arisen. This is no small task. Because the sheer amount of raw data from each element is so massive, analyzing that data requires an extremely powerful AI tool.

To aid this process, Samsung and Zhilabs, a Samsung Company, created CognitiV Analytics. This powerful solution collects data from various sources from networks and uses that data to create a big-picture snapshot of the network’s status.

The solution offers comprehensive analysis, making it easier for mobile operators to evaluate and view network performance, services and other valuable information, eliminating the need to utilize multiple analytics solutions to obtain the same information. CognitiV Analytics tool offers the ability to offer fast analysis and also minimizes human error that can come with moving complex data across multiple tools.

By working closely with human counterparts and providing them with detailed explanations of its actions, our CognitiV Analytics solution offers greater transparency on how AI addresses particular problems. Over time, these interactions will help increase the tool’s accuracy and efficiency while enabling mobile operators to become more familiar with and trusting of AI.

The Importance of Strengthening AI Tools

CognitiV Analytics not only showcases what our AI technology is capable of, but it also demonstrates how AI can be used to solve important issues, and proves just how easily it can be incorporated into commercial networks. Included among the solution’s key features are its abilities; to learn using diverse data sets; to apply rule-based analysis; and to implement automation.

CognitiV Analytics’ AI has proven capable of quickly ascertaining important information about mobile operators’ networks even at the initial stage of its implementation, when only small data sets have been available. In order for AI to learn, it must be able to work with both labeled and unlabeled data. A typical data label might indicate whether a photo contains a horse or a cow, or what type of action is being performed in a video. Labeled network data, however, is expensive to obtain, since a few highly trained engineers can perform sophisticated labeling process. Therefore, in order for AI analytics tool to offer meaningful insights even at the initial stage, its AI must be capable of learning from unlabeled data. Our AI has the capability to learn from both labeled and unlabeled data, being able to support mobile operators from day one.

While most 5G network data sets can be analyzed with AI, some data features distinct characteristics that make it unsuitable for AI-based analysis. Such cases require users to apply their own rules, based on their experience and expertise, to assess their data. This is called rule-based analysis. CognitiV Analytics incorporates this analysis by enabling users to mix and match AI-based and rule-based analysis. This streamlines connections by offering mobile operators more accurate evaluations of network performance.

When we talk about automation in 5G networks, we’re talking about a process that typically features four phases: (1) discover the problem, (2) identify the root cause, (3) find the solution, and (4) apply the solution to the network. Some mobile operators tend to prefer to take some time to understand how AI-based analytics tools manage issues in each phase. Those of us in the industry believe this boils down to the familiarity and reliability of AI. Our CognitiV Analytics solution is designed to address the issue by applying each phase in steps, so mobile operators can take time to understand the AI in managing their 5G networks.

Samsung’s CognitiV Analytics is already being utilized in commercial networks that enable connections for hundreds of millions of mobile users. What is notable about this is the fact that our solution supports closed-loop automation, automatically offering recommended configurations for each element of a particular network. It features automatic KPI monitoring and fallback functions to guard against KPI degradation, which helps keep service levels constant across entire networks. In addition, based on its analysis of real-time data, CognitiV Analytics automatically adjusts network configurations to better manage fluctuations in traffic patterns and environmental changes.

Harnessing AI for Future Networks

For today’s mobile operators, proper network management is a complicated and essential part of keeping the world connected. It’s also an aspect of their operations that features no room for error. As the number of connected devices increases and more immersive use cases are introduced, mobile operators require simple tools that aid managing commercial networks and allow them to quickly respond to pressing issues. Powerful, AI-based management tools working closely with human counterparts make this possible.

We look forward to creating a future in which fully automated mobile networks behave like living organisms, promptly identifying issues and resolving them like our body would heal a wound. This means that if, for example, we found ourselves unable to stream a movie on our smartphone, the network’s AI-based management tool would fix the issue on its own. When AI expects an increase in traffic, it would expand network capacity by automatically adding network resources. While it will take some time to make these experiences a reality, we can make them possible by continuing to advance AI the right way.

CognitiV Analytics is a reflection of Samsung’s ongoing commitment to harnessing AI, which will bring incredible opportunities to enrich our everyday lives. Combining the power of AI and human creativity can provide mobile operators with the solutions they need to simplify operations and better manage network resources.

by Chansoo Hwang

Vice President and Head of Network Analytics Group, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics