Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced it will showcase new projects that, with the support of its C-Lab program, are innovating in a wide range of fields, including AI, robotics and digital health, at CES 2026, the world’s largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition, running Jan. 6-9.

At CES, Samsung will operate a dedicated C-Lab exhibition area to support the startups’ expansion into the global market. It will be located in Eureka Park at the Venetian Expo, the designated startup zone of CES, where participating startups will showcase innovative technologies.

“Samsung supports C-Lab startups through CES as a platform to validate innovative technologies and build momentum for global growth,” said Byoung Chul Lee, Vice President and Head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics. “This year, expanded participation from regional startups highlights the continued evolution of the C-Lab ecosystem.”

C-Lab Ourside: 15 Startups That Include AI, Robotics and Digital Health

This year, C-Lab will feature 15 startups, including eight startups directly incubated by Samsung Electronics through the C-Lab Outside program, four from the Samsung Financial Networks-operated Samsung Financial C-Lab Outside, two from Samsung Electronics’ internal venture program, C-Lab Inside, and one that was jointly incubated by Samsung Electronics and the Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center.

Record Participation of Regional Startup

Since 2023, Samsung has expanded C-Lab Outside to the Korean cities of Daegu and Gwangju, as well as the Gyeongbuk province. The program identifies and supports promising startups to strengthen regional startup ecosystems, then provides workspace, stage-based consulting and opportunities to collaborate with Samsung and its affiliates. This allows startups to grow without relocating to the much larger city of Seoul and fosters a sustainable local innovation cycle.

To date, 40 regional startups have been incubated through this initiative, contributing to the revitalization of regional ecosystems and laying the groundwork for future global unicorns.

At CES 2026, seven startups from Daegu, Gwangju and Gyeongbuk will participate, marking the largest-ever presence of regional C-Lab startups at CES.

Regional Startup Achievements Continue to Grow

The technological competitiveness of these regional C-Lab startups continues to gain recognition.

Repla, a plastic recycling startup from C-Lab Outside Gyeongbuk, received a CES 2026 Innovation Award for its Puri-Checker, a device that analyzes plastic composition ratios.

“For a regional startup, collaborating with a global company like Samsung has been a valuable opportunity,” said Dong-eun Seo, CEO of Repla. “Plastic recycling is a global challenge, and CES provides an important platform to explore international market opportunities.”

The seven participating regional C-Lab startups are as follows:

• Stress Solution (Gyeongbuk): An AI-based personalized mental care sound creation solution
• Deepscent (Gwangju): An AI-powered digital scent solution tailored to every space
• Elevenliter (Daegu): AI-Powered diagnostics for progressive diseases in pets
• AunionAI (Gwangju): A web-based AI solution for automated multilingual dubbing and subtitles with expressive voices and sound effects
• Repla (Gyeongbuk): Enzyme-purified recycled plastic, free of impurities
• Univa (Daegu): An on-device multimodal large language model solution
• 10kM.ai (Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center): An enterprise AI video production solution that can generate, edit and monetize videos

C-Lab Inside Showcases AI-Driven Internal Ventures

Every year since 2016, Samsung has used CES to showcase projects from C-Lab Inside, gauging global market response and validating business potential.

This year, two AI-driven projects evaluated highly for their innovation, global scalability and completeness will be exhibited:

• ChronoMix: An AI solution for object-centric video composition
• EZ Reco: A generative AI platform that makes electronics recommendations based on expert knowledge

Expansion of C-Lab to Affiliates, Including Financial Startups 

Reflecting the expansion of Samsung’s open innovation model across its affiliates, four startups from Samsung Financial C-Lab Outside will participate in CES for the first time. This participation enables startups across various industries to seek new global collaboration opportunities by leveraging Samsung’s incubation experience. The Samsung Financial C-Lab Outside startups are as follows:

• Selectstar (Samsung Life Insurance): Copyright-cleared datasets and an all-in-one AI evaluation platform
• Datumo (Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance): Cyber risk modeling to quantify and reduce the financial impact of cyber attacks
• WINNING.I (Samsung Card): Next-gen identity verification (eKYC) powered by simultaneous fingerprint and face biometrics
• Pillsang (Samsung Securities): Real-time phishing (scam/fraud) detection solution using on-device AI

C-Lab Startups Win 17 CES 2026 Innovation Awards

C-Lab startups have received a total of 17 CES 2026 Innovation Awards, including two Best of Innovation Awards, as announced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

Both Best of Innovation Award recipients — MangoSlab and StudioLab — originated from C-Lab Inside and later spun off as independent startups, reaffirming the technological excellence and growth potential of Samsung’s internal ventures.

At CES 2025, the C-Lab companies consist of 12 startups from the C-Lab Outside program, which incubates external startups; two startups from C-Lab Inside, which is an internal venture program for employees; and one startup that was spun-off from Samsung. At the event, Samsung expects C-Lab startups to assess global market response, strengthen business feasibility and meet with investors.

“CES is an important opportunity for Korean startups to gain a foothold in the global market and increase brand awareness,” said Pilgyu Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics. “C-Lab will continue to support startups on the journey to becoming internationally recognized global innovators.”

C-Lab Outside: Twelve Startups That Include AI, IoT and Digital Health

This year, C-Lab will feature 12 startups, including 11 startups directly incubated by Samsung Electronics through the C-Lab Outside program and one startup jointly incubated by Samsung Electronics and the Daegu Center for Creative Economy & Innovation. The 12 startups are as follows:

AI

• DEEP.FINE: An XR solution using Vision-AI and Visual Localization (VL) for precise digital space creation
• Mainspace: An online shopping service based on automated 3D interior design technology
• ENERZAi: A next-generation AI inference optimization engine
• Cochl: An AI-based sound technology that can understand any sound like a human
• Korea Greendata: Revolutionizing energy data analytic platform with AI-driven chatbot integration
• 10kM.ai: An enterprise AI video production solution that can generate, edit, and distribute at scale

 Digital Health

• Riduck: An AI-based aerobic exercise coaching solution based on data from a wearable device
• LabSD: A digital ophthalmoscope manufactured with upcycled smartphones and a teleophthalmology system
• Meditrix: A VR-based neuro-biofeedback motion chair and mobile digital therapeutics

 IoT

• Ghostpass: A remote hands-free authentication solution by storing user biometrics on smartphones
• Pinpoint: Smart building OS that integrates operations and user experiences into a unified solution

 Robot

•  Quester: A high-performance hand tracking glove with sensor fusion technology

C-Lab will showcase four local startups from Daegu and Gwangju, Korea, which is a new record achieved through Samsung Electronics’ efforts to promote the local startup ecosystem. Since 2023, Samsung Electronics has expanded the C-Lab Outside program to discover and nurture innovative startups in these regions. The immense potential of these startups has been demonstrated by GhostPass, a startup from C-Lab Outside Gwangju that has won the Best of Innovation Award in Fintech at CES 2025.

“Thanks to the support and coaching of C-Lab Outside, we were able to grow our company in a short period of time,” said Sunkwan Lee, CEO and founder of GhostPass. “We are excited to attend CES 2025 with C-Lab and showcase our solution, which won the CES Best of Innovation Award.”

C-Lab Outside was created in October 2018, and startups selected for the program receive full support — including a business support fund, office workspaces and customized development programs — along with business cooperation from Samsung Electronics.

Two C-Lab Inside Projects From Samsung Employees; One C-Lab Spin-off That Began at Samsung

Since 2016, Samsung has been exhibiting its C-Lab Inside projects at CES to see how the global market responds and to test their business viability.

The C-Lab Inside projects that Samsung Electronics is showcasing at CES have been widely recognized for their innovation, global marketability and completeness — including IoT solutions that provide differentiated experiences in conjunction with Samsung Electronics products, as well as a new conceptual robotics platform. This year’s projects are as follows:

• GreenFollow : Galaxy-enabled autonomous driving solution for electric golf trolley
• Modulero : A modular platform for robotics development

In 2015, Samsung Electronics introduced its C-Lab spin-off program, which allows C-Lab Inside projects with high market potential to be launched as fully-fledged startups. At CES 2025, C-Lab spin-off Edint will showcase its mobile-based AI online exam proctoring service.

C-Lab Startups Win 12 CES 2025 Innovation Awards

In November 2024, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced the winners of the CES 2025 Innovation Awards, including the award for Best of Innovation. C-Lab startups received one Best of Innovation Award and 11 Innovation Award Honorees.

C-Lab’s products and services that received honors include GhostPass, DEEP.Fine, Mainspace, ENERZAi, Quester and others. The CES 2025 Innovation Award-winning products and services will be displayed separately at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.

The C-Lab program was created in 2012, and since it was established, Samsung has nurtured a total of 912 startups and projects (506 through C-Lab Outside and 406 through C-Lab Inside) so far. Through “C-Lab Family” program, a unique professional network, all startups of C-Lab can also continue to co-operate with Samsung even after graduating from the C-Lab Outside or spinning off from C-Lab.

For more information, visit: https://news.samsung.com/my/

[1] Started in December 2012, C-Lab Inside nurtures employees’ innovative ideas while instilling a corporate culture in which creativity is at the fore. Since 2015, Samsung has been supporting successful C-Lab projects that demonstrate great market potential, and facilitating their launch as startups under the C-Lab spin-off policy.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced it will be showcasing new innovative projects developed from its C-Lab program at CES® 2024, which runs from January 9 through 12. During the showcase, Samsung will highlight 15 startups and projects — the highest number the company has ever featured — at Eureka Park at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, the main exhibition space for startups at the world’s biggest tech show.

This year’s CES is expected to feature more than 1,000 startups and attract more than 130,000 visitors from around the world, including business executives, investors and media. At the event, Samsung expects startups from C-Lab to assess global market responses, strengthen their business feasibility and meet with investors.

“The goal of the C-Lab program is to elevate a platform for startups to grow and flourish,” said Pilgyu Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics. “CES is the perfect venue for these exciting companies and projects to show major tech players that they belong on the global stage.”

The C-Lab program was created in 2012 and since it was established, Samsung has nurtured a total of 872 startups and projects. This includes 475 through C-Lab Outside and 397 through C-Lab Inside. In particular, the 537 C-Lab startups (62 from C-Lab Spin-off and 475 from C-Lab Outside) have raised a cumulative total of $1 billion in investment.

C-Lab Outside: Ten Startups That Include AI, Energy and Healthcare Products

C-Lab Outside was created in October 2018, and startups selected for the program receive full support — including office workspaces, customized development programs and investment — along with business cooperation from Samsung Electronics. Dr.Tail, an online veterinary consultation service, has collaborated with Samsung Electronics to bring its services to Samsung Smart TVs[1] and will be exhibited at the C-Lab booths at CES.

In addition to Dr.Tail, Samsung Electronics will exhibit nine other startups selected and supported by the C-Lab Outside program:

• RebuilderAI: AI solutions for fast and easy 3D content creation on smartphones
• Ghost Pass: decentralized remote biometric authentication solutions
• DEEPX: an NPU-based[2] AI semiconductor
• Style Bot: a fashion recommendation service based on user-owned clothing data
• Vsion: a smart window with adjustable transparency
• DolbomDream: a smart, inflatable jacket designed to monitor the health of senior citizens
• 60Hertz: an AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) solution
• Wrtn Technologies: a generative AI portal service
• NdotLight: a web-based collaborative 3D design platform

“We are excited to be part of C-Lab’s high-profile startup booth at Eureka Park,” said Sunkwan Lee, CEO of Ghost Pass. “Thanks to the support of Samsung C-Lab, we won the CES Innovation Award this year, which I think makes this year’s CES a good opportunity for us to take a step toward going global.”

Two C-Lab Inside Projects From Samsung Employees and Three C-Lab Spin-off Startups That Started at Samsung

Samsung has been exhibiting its C-Lab Inside projects at CES since 2016, and this year’s CES exhibit will feature two projects that are currently being fostered in-house. These projects are from the healthcare and pet-tech sectors and have been highly regarded for their innovation, marketability, and completeness:

• EARS: a healthcare platform that analyzes brain waves captured by earbuds
• DumboCam: a pet training platform that utilizes Vision AI

In 2016, Samsung Electronics introduced its C-Lab spin-off program, which allows C-Lab Inside projects with high market potential to be launched as fully-fledged startups. At CES 2024, three C-Lab spin-off startups — which initially started as C-Lab Inside projects — will showcase their innovative products in C-Lab booths:

• Yellosis: smart toilets and AI healthcare solutions based on measurement of liquid body waste
• Becon: AI-powered hair loss management solutions
• Goose Labs: metaverse home workout app with real-time motion-sensing avatars

C-Lab Startups Win 23 CES 2024 Innovation Awards

In November 2023, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced the winners of the CES 2024 Innovation Awards, including the award for Best of Innovation. Projects from the C-Lab program received one Best of Innovation Award and 22 Innovation Award Honorees.

Samsung is sharing its knowledge of winning CES Innovation Awards and entering the global market with the C-Lab startups, which has allowed them to find success. At CES 2024, 16 C-Lab Outside startups were named as Innovation Award Honorees. As for C-Lab Spin-off startups, one project received a Best of Innovation Award and four were named Innovation Award Honorees.

Specifically, STUDIO LAB — a startup spun off in 2021 — won the CES Innovation Award. The company’s products include Seller Canvas, an AI-based commerce detail page automation service, and Photo-bot, an automated commerce photography robot that combines AI and robotics.

Yellosis and DEEPX — two of the startups being exhibited at the C-Lab booths — each received Innovation Awards in three categories. Yellosis is a digital health startup spun off in 2020 that developed Cym702 Seat, a smart toilet that automatically measures liquid body waste and provides health management solutions. The company also developed Cym702 Circle, a smart toilet that simply measures glucose in liquid body waste in public restrooms. Yellosis won CES Innovation Awards in three categories, including Digital Health,Smart Cities and Product in support of human security .

DEEPX was founded in 2018 and develops edge AI chips for computational processing of AI algorithms such as deep learning-based object recognition, face/voice recognition, image classification and image quality improvement. DEEPX is the first AI semiconductor company to win CES Innovation Awards in three categories, including Embedded technology, Robotics and Computer hardware & components.

For more information, please visit: https://news.samsung.com/my/

[1] Services will be available on Samsung Smart TVs released in the U.S. starting in 2024.

[2] A neural processing unit (NPU) is a microprocessor specialized for AI workloads and simultaneous operations.   

C-Lab Inside: Metaverse and Lifestyle Projects from Samsung Employees Go on Show

Since 2016, Samsung has been exhibiting its C-Lab Inside projects at CES, and the upcoming projects for 2023 have been highly evaluated in terms of innovation, marketability and completeness among those currently being fostered in-house. And they are as follows:

• Meta-Running, a metaverse platform to learn proper running form
• Porkamix, a metaverse platform that provides an interactive concert experience
• Soom, a new meditation experience with real-time feedback
• Falette, a 3D digital transformation for home fabric products

C-Lab Outside: Startups Showcasing Robots, AI and More to Receive CES Spotlight

Created in October 2018, C-Lab Outside is a startup acceleration program launched to invigorate the startup ecosystem in Korea. Startups enrolled in the C-Lab Outside program are provided with office workspaces, expert mentoring from Samsung employees and digital marketing & financial consulting. Additional support includes potential partnerships with Samsung Electronics and opportunities to participate in influential IT exhibitions such as CES and KES (Korea Electronics Show).

For the past year, Samsung and the Daegu Center and the Gyeong-buk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, which are parts of C-Lab Outside, have been incubating these startups to develop their technology and be ready to meet the world at CES 2023. The eight chosen startups are:

• NdotLight, a web based 3D design solution
• NEUBILITY, an urban delivery service through self-driving robots
• 40FY, a digital mental health care app service from examination to treatment,
• CELLICO, a micro-bionic eye for patients with retinal disease
• Plask, an AI and browser-based motion capture and animation editing tool
• Wrn Technologies, writing training and content creation services using Generative AI
• Catius, a multi-turn conversational AI companion for children
• Erangtek, an IoT micro repeater for home users to improve call quality

C-Lab Startups Bring Record-Breaking 29 wins of the CES 2023 Innovation Awards

In November 2022, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced the winners of the CES 2023 Innovation Awards across 28 product categories, including Best of Innovation. Projects from the C-Lab startups received two Best of Innovation Awards, and 27 were named Innovation Awards Honorees. As a result, C-Lab took home 22 Innovation Awards in 2022 and seven more in 2023 for their standout technologies.

“It is a great pleasure to see that C-Lab startups have proven their technological prowess on the global stage, as evidenced by the most Innovation Awards ever at CES,” said Hark Kyu Park, President and Chief Financial Officer at Samsung Electronics. “We hope that C-Lab startups will be able to more actively target the global market and show the excellence of Korean startups.”

Notably, Dot Inc., which develops devices and software for the visually impaired, was named a CES 2023 Best of Innovation Award winner in the Accessibility category and also named two CES Innovation Awards Honorees. Verses, which developed the Meta Music System for streaming, was named a CES 2023 Best of Innovation Award winner in the Streaming category.

Seven of the eight startups to exhibit in the C-Lab booth –  NEUBILITY, 40FY, NdotLight, CELLICO, Plask, Catius, Wrtn Technologies – won Innovation Awards

Additionally, seven spun-off startups from C-Lab Inside and 11 former C-Lab Outside startups won two Best of Innovation Awards and 20 Innovation Awards.

Samsung Has Achieved Its Goal of Nurturing 500 Startups and Projects over Five Years

In 2018, Samsung Electronics announced that it would accelerate 300 Korean startups through C-Lab Outside and 200 projects through C-Lab Inside over a five years. The company has nurtured a total of 506 startups and projects (304 from C-Lab Outside and 202 from C-Lab Inside) so far.

Samsung recently established C-Lab Family, a unique professional network through which alumni startups can continue to co-operate with Samsung even after graduating from C-Lab Outside or spun-off from C-Lab. It also created the C-Lab Scale-Up Committee and plans to gradually expand partnerships and investments for the C-Lab Family in the future.

[1] Starting in December 2012, Samsung C-Lab Inside was established to encourage Samsung employees to discover new ideas and foster a culture of creativity. Those that have proven marketability will either transfer to an in-house division of Samsung or become spin-off projects the company supports.

C-Lab Inside: Four Projects From Samsung Employees To Debut

Since 2016, Samsung has been exhibiting its C-Lab Inside projects at Eureka Park, the main exhibition space for startups from around the world at CES. During the exhibition, the marketability and customer response will be gauged to enhance and further advance the startups’ projects. Those that have proven marketability will either transfer to an in-house division of Samsung or become spin-off projects that will be supported by the company.

The four C-Lab Inside projects that will be exhibited are:

• Piloto, an AI solution that helps children develop proper smartphone usage habits
• PROBA, an AI-based online exam service for administrators, test-takers and supervisors
• innovision, a nursery mobile for early detection of infant strabismus
• ZamStar, a smart electric guitar that makes learning guitar easy with LED guides

C-Lab Outside: Nine Startups That Are Ready for the Global Market

Created in October 2018, C-Lab Outside is a startup acceleration program that was launched to invigorate the startup ecosystem in South Korea. Startups enrolled in the C-Lab Outside program are provided with office workspaces, expert mentoring from Samsung employees, participation in global IT exhibitions, and financial and investor relations support.

Five startups that have been incubated directly by Samsung over the past year and four startups from the Daegu Center and the Gyeong-buk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation that are part of C-Lab Outside will also participate in CES 2022. They include:

• Petnow, an AI-based pet biometric recognition solution
• Digisonic, a 3D immersive audio solution for mobile devices
• Verses, an interactive metaverse music app
• bitsensing, an array of imaging radar technology solutions for autonomous driving and smart cities
• SELECTSTAR, an AI-based data collection and labelling platform
• RGT Inc., a multifunctional modular serving robot
• MoreDream Inc., an input system to improve accessibility and productivity for the visually impaired
• Yellowknife, a vehicle display customization platform
• MONIT, a smart diaper care solution for elderly patients

Furthermore, nine startups that have been spun off from C-Lab Inside also plan to set up their own exhibition booths at CES 2022. The spun-off startups that will exhibit include EVAR, Prinker Korea Inc., lululab and Linkface.

C-Lab Startups Recognized as Honorees and Best of Innovation at CES 2022

In November of 2021, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced CES 2022 Innovation Awards across 27 product categories, including those recognized as Best of Innovation. Projects from the C-Lab startups received one Best of Innovation award and 21 Innovation Awards Honoree nods for their standout technologies.

Notably, Petnow, which developed an AI-based biometric recognition solution for pets, was named a CES 2022 Best of Innovation award winner in the Software & Mobile Apps category. The Petnow app uses a camera to automatically detect, photograph and register a dog’s nose print, making it easier to find lost dogs.

C-Lab’s other award-winning products and services include: Digisonic, EVAR, lululab, Verses, bitsensing, Linkface, LUPLE, BLUEFEEL, Prinker Korea Inc, etc. The CES 2022 Innovation Award-winning products will be displayed separately at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.

“With the support of the C-Lab program, these startups have proven their technological prowess on the global stage, as evidenced by the most Innovation Awards ever at CES,” said Hark Kyu Park, President and Chief Financial Officer at Samsung Electronics. “We hope the startups that had difficulty expanding their businesses due to the pandemic will be able to target the global market more actively, starting with CES 2022.”

Samsung Plans To Have Nurtured 500 Startups by Next Year

Started in December 2012, C-Lab Inside nurtures employees’ innovative ideas while instilling a corporate culture in which creativity is at the fore. The program supports the development of ideas from all areas of the business. Since 2015, Samsung has been supporting successful C-Lab projects that demonstrate great market potential, and facilitating their launch as startups under the C-Lab spin-off policy. Leveraging the success of the C-Lab Inside initiative, C-Lab Outside has been expanding Samsung’s support for new ventures to startups and innovations outside of the Samsung network since 2018.

Samsung Electronics had previously announced that it would accelerate 300 Korean startups through C-Lab Outside and 200 projects through C-Lab Inside over a five-year period. The company has nurtured a total of 406 startups (244 from C-Lab Outside and 162 from C-Lab Inside) so far, and plans to reach 500 by next year.

Samsung Electronics will demonstrate its C-Lab products and services from January 5th through the 8th at the C-Lab exhibition booth on the first floor of Hall G at Venetian Expo (formerly Sands Expo), Eureka Park. Visitors who are unable to visit the site in person will be able to watch product videos online from today until January 30th on the C-Lab website (https://www.claboutside.com/ces2022), and will also be offered chances to communicate with the startups.

[C-Lab Spin-Offs Participating in CES 2022]

Samsung Electronics today announced that the company ranked fourth out of 150 companies in the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)’s Digital Inclusion Benchmark in 2021. Samsung’s consistent, multifaceted efforts to be digitally responsible have earned the achievement from global tenth place in 2020 to fourth in this year.

The WBA represents an alliance forged among more than 200 global, regional and local organizations to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WBA examines companies with a focus on seven key categories, including human rights, the environment and digital inclusion. The WBA launched its very first Digital Inclusion Benchmark last year, which evaluated companies’ progress in improving access to technology, enhancing digital skills, fostering trustworthy use and innovating both openly and ethically.

Samsung was recognized for its efforts on digital responsibility as the company had established its artificial intelligence (AI) ethics principles. Having recognized the importance of emphasizing social and ethical responsibility in technology development, Samsung established a set of AI ethics principles to put into practice.

Samsung strives for accessibility in its products, enhancing them with technologies that make it easier for all users to utilize them. WBA recognized Samsung’s SeeColors app¹ that makes color adjustments to aid those with color vision deficiency (CVD) and helps them enjoy a better viewing experience with optimized colors on Samsung TVs.

The company’s C-lab Outside program in Korea that is designed to foster the startup ecosystem was singled out for its social contribution activities, while Samsung’s devotion to support digital education also garnered recognition. With its vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung has been and will continue to operate social contribution activities focusing on youth education and growth for their sustainable development. Samsung operates its global Corporate Citizenship Program, the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) to provide support in the form of job opportunities in future technology fields.

As a company that develops products and technologies that enhance users’ lives, Samsung is committed to promoting digital responsibility. Going forward, the company will continue to explore ways to make it easier for people to access and utilize a wide range of convenient and meaningful digital technologies.

¹ This app is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease or medical problem. Any information found, acquired or accessed through this app is made available for your convenience and should not be treated as medical advice.

*The above images are not the actual ID but a design draft.

Through C-Lab, Samsung Electronics provides opportunities for select projects and start-ups, with the final list of selected companies being announced at international events such as CES 2021. Through not only C-Lab Inside¹ and C-Lab Outside,² but also the C-Lab Outside companies that are selected in affiliation with the Daegu & Gyeongbuk Centers for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI), Samsung secures chances for companies to join the international stage. These efforts allow the stepping stones of growth to be broadened for an increasing number of start-ups.

So exactly which start-ups were chosen to take the stage at the CES 2021 digital exhibition? Samsung Newsroom met with two start-ups and one in-house venture from C-Lab to find out more about them as they prepare for the upcoming CES exhibition.

■ Tell us about Food & Sommelier.

We are one of the teams selected as an in-house venture within C-Lab Inside. We provide a service that recommends the best food and wine combinations according to users’ preferences. While collaborating on R&D with the Korea International Sommelier Association (KISA), we selected elements that affect the suitability of food-wine combinations. The elements concerning food consisted of 28 ingredients, 12 cooking methods, and 47 sauces. For wine, the important factors included body, acidity, aroma, and sweetness. After converting these elements into numerical figures, we developed the capability to recommend the food and wine combinations that would prove most attractive to our users. For example, the classifications of foods include beef, chicken, pork, oily fish, and mushrooms, while some examples of the cooking methods are blanching, steaming, boiling, and grilling. With proven recommendations from Korea’s major sommeliers, Food & Sommelier is striving to create a service that is reliable for customers.

■ What compelled the company to provide food and wine combination recommendations?

We have often witnessed situations where waiters and waitresses were confused about what wine they should recommend when helping customers. As we learned more about wine, we realized that the field of wine is somewhat influenced by IT. The global wine market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. As wine becomes more and more popular, there will be more demand for our service. Once our service is combined with IT, anyone will be able to enjoy dishes with the appropriate wine to match.

■ How do I use the service?

First, start your app on your smartphone and take a picture of the food. Once the program recognizes the dish, the matching algorithm will recommend some wines with high match rates.

■ How will Food & Sommelier change our day-to-day lives in the future?

In the past, customers had to rely on the recommendations of store clerks or price ranges to pick a wine. In the future, however, Food & Sommelier will help them conveniently select a wine or dish based on their preferences by providing information via kiosks, a smartphone app, and tablet PCs. Wherever there is an establishment that serves wine, Food & Sommelier will provide a gourmet restaurant experience with sommelier-quality recommendations.

■ What are your goals?

South Korea is on the fringes when it comes to the wine market. By incorporating the market with the world’s best IT, however, we are sure that the Korean market can come to be a leader in the ‘food tech’ market. Food & Sommelier would also like to go beyond the wine market, and hopes to widen its scope of pairing solutions to include a range of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

■ Tell us about Counter Culture Company.

We are one of the start-ups selected from C-Lab Outside. We operate a global K-pop online home training service called ED Online K-pop Training Agency. Instructors who have experience nurturing famous K-pop stars provide comprehensive lectures on not only dancing, but also vocal training, fitness, makeup, and styling. This service provides international fans with the actual training that K-pop singers receive.

■ What motivated you to provide this service?

As K-pop gains international popularity, people are increasingly interested in finding out how Korea’s K-pop singers are fostered. Chinese and European singers-to-be are already spending tens of thousands of dollars per year to receive K-pop training in Korea.

We have paid close attention to providing world-class online lectures, and other services that deliver the know-how of international millionaires, at reasonable prices without any time or space restrictions for use. Accordingly, we wondered if we could incorporate this into online services that teach dance or deliver vocal training. Once the future K-pop trainees learn basic moves and receive vocal training online before starting their official training in Korea, the entertainment management companies that deliver the in-person training may be able to reduce their costs as well.

■ How do users utilize the service?

With our service, users can basically take online K-pop classes. By syncing their smartphone cameras, users can use ‘mirror studio’ to compare their moves with those of the instructor and ‘live class’ to experience real-time interactive training. To truly improve, trainees require monitoring and professional feedback. Thus, ED provides assignments for practice every week and professional feedback regarding the submitted performances. Moreover, users can check their progress by going through monthly evaluations along with Korean K-pop trainees.

■ How will Counter Culture Company change our day-to-day lives in the future?

Our service will allow any K-pop trainee to take high-quality lessons regardless of space and time, even if they live far away from Korea. ED is also planning to launch an online audition service in collaboration with some entertainment management companies. In the past, those companies had to travel overseas to find talent, which required a lot of effort and expense. If ED can develop online audition capabilities for those qualified trainees, however, those management companies will be able to find more talent, regardless of recruiting restrictions.

■ What are your goals?

It has been about seven months since the official launch of the service. So far, we have been enjoying meaningful encounters while providing better user experiences and having our business grow at the same time. K-pop is a music genre that anyone can enjoy. We hope that our service will help global fans of K-pop communicate with one another and see their dreams come true by going beyond time, space, and language barriers.

■ Tell us about Salin.

Salin is a start-up that is supported by C-Lab Outside through the Daegu Center for Creative Economy & Innovation. With Salin, users can create avatars that resemble themselves to share content and communicate in virtual or augmented reality (VR or AR). There are many cooperative platforms in the market, although the purpose of those platforms is generally limited to meetings and training. Salin’s platform can be utilized for various purposes such as virtual concert halls for sharing performance videos, online training venues and virtual meeting rooms. In addition, anyone can easily utilize our technology through their laptops and smartphones, which are easier to access than smart glasses and VR headsets.

■ What made the company want to provide this service?

Up to now, most companies have been focused on applying VR and AR technologies to game services. However, we decided that these technologies were more suitable for services in the areas of media, education and collaboration.

■ How do users utilize the service?

First, users activate the Salin app with a laptop, smartphone or VR/AR headset. Once they have uploaded a selfie, they can create avatars that look like themselves and act in response to their movement. After that, all they have to do is use functions such as 3D writing and multi-video sharing to invite others into 3D spaces and enjoy talking with them.

■ How will Salin change our day-to-day lives in the future?

Imagine 50 avatars talking to each other on Salin’s platform – that would constitute a remarkable experience. This is a whole other level compared to 50 people exchanging messages online. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, college students have started using more virtual meeting services for not only studying but also social gatherings. By utilizing Salin, users will not only do better work but also enjoy a variety of daily activities in VR and AR environments.

■ What are your goals?

Last year, Salin’s platform was used to view sports events and performances, for remote collaboration work and for docent services. This year, we plan to launch more services to support large-scale exhibitions and conferences with hundreds of remote users. At Salin, we hope to provide unique services in such a way that more users and companies can combine their businesses with our platform.

¹ ‘C-Lab Inside’ is Samsung’s in-house idea incubation program that has been looking to instill a creative corporate culture throughout the company and nurture its employees’ ideas into meaningful offerings since December 2012.

² ‘C-Lab Outside’ is a start-up acceleration program for entrepreneurs outside of Samsung Electronics that has been seeking to invigorate the start-up ecosystem since 2018.

#1

Who among us has not experienced the frustration of trying to book tickets home ahead of a busy holiday weekend? While some book online from the comfort of their homes, others – many of them elderly – will line up at the break of dawn to reserve tickets in-person at major train and bus stations.

#2

Picture this: Person A recently went to a restaurant, but ended up leaving without ordering anything. Person A uses a wheelchair, and the controls on the restaurant’s self-order kiosk were slightly out of reach. As the staff seemed busy, Person A felt shy about asking for assistance, and chose to visit another restaurant instead.

While at first glance, the two stories above may seem unrelated, they both exemplify the dark side of technology in the digital era. Things like telecommuting, distance learning, autonomous driving, and AI job interviews are proof positive that digital technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in both business and society. Unfortunately, digitalization is also creating issues.

To help address those issues, digital technology leaders must accept an important new mission: taking on corporate digital responsibility (CDR). In a nutshell, CDR involves developing products and technologies in a manner that protects users’ rights, and taking steps to enable more people to experience the benefits of digital technologies. The pandemic has prompted more sectors to utilize digital technologies, which has led to increasing pressure on businesses to engage in CDR. As a leader in cutting-edge technologies, what is Samsung Electronics doing to become more digitally responsible? Here are several ‘quests’ that Samsung has undertaken with regard to digital responsibility.

QUEST #1 | Consider Users’ Rights When Developing Products

The more useful a product is, the wider the gap between users and non-users becomes. Samsung strives for accessibility in its products, enhancing them with technologies that make it easy for all users, regardless of age, gender, or disability, to utilize them.

Take Samsung’s TVs, for example. The TVs’ Voice Guide function provides an audio guide for TV settings, combining channel and volume controls with tools to help you schedule a viewing, view current and scheduled program information, and browse the internet. When viewing content with sign language, Samsung’s proprietary AI algorithm automatically recognizes the sign language area and can enlarge it by up to 200 percent.

Samsung mobile devices have also introduced a variety of convenient accessibility features. This includes a function that allows those with hearing difficulties to pair a compatible hearing aid to their device via low-power Bluetooth, as well as a fixed-key feature for users with physical disabilities. In addition, Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator caters to users in wheelchairs with functions that make it possible to move the top of the screen to an easier-to-reach position, adjust the height of the main controls, and launch the menu by tapping anywhere on the screen.

Digital advancements can be incredible, but they can cut both ways. Yes, they tend to make life more comfortable, but they can also create social issues like ‘smombies’¹ and ‘nomophobia’.² From a product design standpoint, helping users enjoy healthy digital lifestyles is a key part of being digitally responsible. Samsung has therefore committed to developing digital well-being tools that are based on five digital well-being values: Digital Detox, Balance, Guard, Wellness, and Safety. For example, Samsung’s App Timer feature (which falls under the Balance category) can help users reduce the amount of time they spend on applications by setting time limits. Focus Mode (Digital Detox) allows users to pause or silence notifications from selected apps temporarily, while the Samsung Kids service (Guard) helps create a safe environment for children to explore, play and develop good digital habits.

Safety is crucial when it comes to smartphones, as we tend to fill them with a wide range of important information, including everything from bank account numbers, contacts and photos. Samsung’s Find My Mobile feature was created to protect that valuable information in the event that you lose your phone. Once activated, it tracks the location of the lost phone, tells the user where it is, and offers them the choice to delete their personal data, including messages and photos, or upload it to Samsung Cloud. The Samsung Knox platform offers defense-grade mobile security, while the smartphones’ Secure Wi-Fi feature allows you to safely browse the internet on public wireless connections without worrying about your personal information being compromised.

QUEST #2 | Share the Benefits of Digital Technology with More People

“I saved two lives that were almost lost.”

“The technology is really useful for finding hidden sparks and embers and putting them out.”

The quotes above are from firefighters who utilized a product of Samsung’s in-house incubation program, C-Lab (Creative Lab), to help protect their community. The product they’re describing is a thermal observation device that uses thermal imaging cameras to help firefighters detect fires’ ignition points and identify and rescue others. It’s just one of many C-Lab innovations that reflect Samsung’s commitments to (1) developing products and services that address social issues, and (2) sharing those technologies with communities that need them.

Lives’Talk, a wearable device for tracking nomadic livestock, is another example of a community-enriching C-Lab innovation. The technology was created to make it easier for nomadic communities in Kazakhstan to find and retrieve their livestock. Once attached to livestock, the device’s GPS transmitter-receiver tracks the animals’ locations in real time. A total of 700 Lives’Talk devices were donated in all, helping farmers in these communities become more self-reliant.

Samsung is also advancing digital education programs that equip young minds with the tools they need to become leaders in creating a better world. The Samsung Smart School initiative provides smart devices and solutions to students in areas with little access to IT equipment, reducing the digital divide while supporting students’ creativity. The Samsung Dream Class program, meanwhile, offers middle school students living in areas with lower access to high-quality education an opportunity to take part in enriching classes covering subjects like math and coding. The Samsung Innovation Campus program offers youth entering the job market for the first time hands-on training in skills that technology-related jobs require, including fields like AI, IoT and data analysis. Together, these initiatives are representative of Samsung’s ongoing efforts to promote digital responsibility worldwide.

QUEST #3 | Uphold the Principles of CDR When Developing New Technologies

Often, when developing AI technology, the ethical beliefs of the people behind the technology will inform the ethics of the AI itself. Having recognized the importance of emphasizing social and ethical responsibility in technology development, Samsung established a set of AI ethics principles to put into practice. The company also established guidelines for employees to raise awareness of AI ethics within its workforce.

Samsung has gone to great lengths to foster an ecosystem of open innovation. Not only has the company introduced more than 130 open source projects, but it also hosts its annual Samsung Open Source Conference (SOSCON) to offer experts a forum to share and discuss new developments.

RESULT | Samsung Ranks in Top Ten of WBA’s 2020 Digital Inclusion Benchmark

Samsung’s consistent, multifaceted efforts to be digitally responsible have earned a ranking in the top ten of the World Benchmarking Alliance’s (WBA) Digital Inclusion Benchmark. Notably, Samsung is the only Korean company to rank in the top ten, and ranks third in Asia and fourth among companies in the hardware sector.

The WBA represents an alliance forged among approximately 176 global, regional and local organizations to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WBA examines companies with a focus on seven key categories, including human rights, the environment, and digital inclusion. The WBA launched its very first Digital Inclusion Benchmark this year, which evaluated companies’ progress in improving access to technology, enhancing digital skills, fostering trustworthy use, and innovating both openly and ethically.

Samsung was noted for being one of the few companies that had established AI ethics principles. The company’s C-Lab program was singled out for its social contributions, while Samsung’s devotion to the expansion of the open-source ecosystem also earned a positive review. The Samsung Kids feature, which encourages children to have healthy smartphone habits, also received a high rating, as did the company’s various social contribution programs, in particular those that are helping communities close the digital divide.

As a company that develops products and technologies that enhance users’ lives, Samsung is committed to promoting digital responsibility. Going forward, the company will continue to explore ways to make it easier for people to access and utilize a wide range of convenient and meaningful digital technologies.

¹ A ‘smartphone zombie’; one who is constantly staring at his/her smartphone

² A term that describes the fear of being without a mobile device

2020 marks the first year that the start-ups accepted to participate in C-Lab outside will be featured at CES. Leveraging the success of the C-Lab Inside initiative, C-Lab Outside has been expanding Samsung’s support for new ventures to start ups and innovations outside of the Samsung network since 2018. The program provides financial support, business collaboration and chances to participate in global exhibitions for new entities with the goal of energizing the start-up ecosystem and creating more IT and technology-driven jobs.

The number of homes populated by just one person is expected to skyrocket in the near-future, with more than 120 million new single-person households expected to be added globally between 2016 and 2030. This demographic will be created by young singles prioritizing their careers over relationships, as well as by the expanding widowed and divorced elderly group, which is especially significant in developed countries. From these shifting demographics emerge pressing concerns regarding loneliness, isolation and a host of other social problems. Thus, team Circulus has introduced its household pet robot ‘pibo’ to try and help address this issue. Asked about the meaning of their team name, team Circulus related that “Circulus is Latin for circle. The word also contains ‘us’, which stands for ‘let us help each other.’”

Pibo balances people’s emotions via communication. It is versatile, offering basic conversation, guidance services including news and weather information, and a voice search function. The humanoid robot analyzes the user’s facial expressions and dialogue in order to best interact with them, delivering conversation, well-known sayings, turning on music or starting to dance depending on how the user is perceived to be feeling. Unlike a smart speaker, pibo doesn’t wait for you to speak up first, and will often initiate conversation when you walk past. Users can also share memories with pibo, using it to share memories, photos and voice diary entries. What’s more, users can update their pet robot with new features by downloading them from the robot application store. Pibo can be customized specifically for you as you make use of its advanced capabilities and tailor its functions to your preferences.

“We’d like to introduce pibo to the world at CES 2020,” said a member of Circulus, “As the US, Europe and Japan are all experiencing an uptick in one-person households, pibo can be a great friend to those who are alone.”

Generally, if you want a personalized exercise plan, you must first undergo a medical examination. However, going to the hospital to put on a mask and run on a treadmill represents a daunting task to many. FITT is a PHR (Personal Health Record) healthcare data platform that was created to positively influence people’s health via easy-to-use exercise evaluation software. When asked about the meaning of their team name, team FITT explained that “Our team name is an abbreviation of the four major elements of exercise planning: Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type.”

FITT starts out by measuring your maximum oxygen intake while you complete a 2.4km running exercise through the FITT app. This test allows the program to produce four one-page reports containing professional-level data regarding the user’s body and physical condition, as well as a fitness program that is tailor-made for them. Within the program FITT issues a customized cardiorespiratory exercise plan, recommending how far users should run, how fast and for how long, as well as a customized posture and muscle strength exercise plan. Once users complete the fitness test, FITT can even predict diseases that the user might be susceptible to, including high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart attacks and cardiovascular disease, among others. If the system identifies that a user is at risk for one or more of these conditions, it will recommend further preventative activities for them. FITT is currently being provided as a web service in select fitness centers, but will be made widely available once the FITT app launches in March of 2020.

“Exercise works best when it is customized for the individual and done in a controlled environment,” a member of team FITT commented, “I hope our ‘exercise evaluations’ help users find out which kind of exercise routine is the best fit for them.”

These days, people use a lot of different devices, with a broad range of different features. In light of this, Suk-jung Kim of Vtouch says he feels that “new ways to interact with devices should be emerging as well.” The conventional input methods these days include either using a touchscreen or interacting with a cursor, but these methods can be prohibitive for users with limited mobility or children who cannot always reach up high enough to interact with devices. Asked about the meaning of their team name, team Vtouch reported that “It means ‘virtual touch’, which communicates the fact that our solution can bring about a ‘touch’ input without the need for physical contact.”

Vtouch’s concept focuses on the fact that whenever you point at an object, your eyes, finger and the object you are pointing at are aligned. The technology enables a non-contact touch input by using computer vision and deep-learning technologies to analyze the movement of the eyes and finger through a camera. Vtouch allows for more sanitary use of devices by removing the physical touch element, and maintains a recognition rate of over 99 percent, with an error margin of just 5 percent of the distance between the user’s hand and the display. As the intuitive technology only requires a camera and processor to work, it can be implemented in a wide range of sectors including automotive, IoT (smart home) and digital signage.

“At first, Vtouch was too expensive to mass produce,” a member of the Vtouch team relates, “However, with the help of various researchers and developers we have been able to bring the price down to where it is now cheaper than most touch panels. We are hoping to implement our solution in multiple environments soon in order to provide a convenient, inclusive experience for users.”

We are living in the era of video-first, and video calls are great for allowing you to talk to loved ones face-to-face without actually being in the same place. However, video calls aren’t appropriate for all situations. If someone video calls you in a quiet place like the library or the subway, or if you want to talk about something private, video calls are less than ideal. Thus, the Smoothy team set out to create a video call app that would address these inconveniences. By incorporating text elements into the video calling interface, while also allowing people to incorporate large groups into their video calls, Smoothy has attracted more than 850,000 users already. Commenting on their team name, the members of team Smoothy related that “Our name implies the smooth combination of video, voice and text during video calls. It also means togetherness while expressing yourself, wherever you are.”

When you answer a call on Smoothy, the call is initially launched in silent mode, meaning that you can answer a video call, anytime, anywhere. Smoothy allows for large group video calls as well, enabling up to eight people to participate in a video call at once. From there, you can either talk normally, or chat with real-time texting, with your texts appearing in the call window as you type. Although we are living in the world of video, most people still communicate through text messages, and the world of texting is brought to life when you can see your friend’s reaction in real-time right before your eyes. Smoothy even allows you to quickly and conveniently capture video clips and send them to friends, enabling whole conversations to unfold through snippets of video. Unlike other video call apps, Smoothy enables you to decorate yourself with features such as AR Emoji, allowing for more fun video chats. When you are in a video chat with more than two people, Smoothy even allows you to visualize your reactions with next-level features such as a lightning effect and a function that allows you to cause other participants’ displays to shake.

“Firstly, we would like to provide a video call app that is fun to use,” reported a member of team Smoothy, “And secondly, we want to deliver an app that enables a wide range of effects and interaction styles.”

A total of nine C-Lab teams will exhibit their work at CES 2020 in Las Vegas from January 7 to 10. While showcasing their work the teams will meet with future users from all over the world to discuss their ideas and try to determine how their innovations will be received. The C-Lab categories will be introduced in two installments, with Part 1 highlighting the five teams who were selected by the internal company venture program.

As smartphone performance has come to rival that of laptops, many users have begun using their smartphones to edit documents and write emails. Unfortunately, typing extended texts on a small keyboard proves uncomfortable, while using a portable keyboard requires the user to carry another sizeable piece of hardware around. Thus, the SelfieType team has come up with “the keyboardless keyboard.”

With SelfieType, the only keyboard you need is yourself. You just place your smartphone on any flat surface and hold your hands in the typing position. Then, when you start typing, the proprietary SelfieType AI engine will analyze your finger movements and convert them into QWERTY keyboard inputs on your smartphone. Except for an RGB, front-facing smartphone camera, the technology requires no additional hardware to enable user-friendly typing. Although current testing is based on English-language typing, the developers are planning to test the technology with other languages in the near-future. The team is also focusing on improving accuracy by enabling SelfieType to be customized according to individual users’ typing styles. SelfieType’s technology can also be extended to tablets, laptops and various other mobile devices.

“At CES, we’d like to receive feedback on how to keep improving SelfieType,” a member of the SelfieType team reports, “we want to see SelfieType shock the world!”

It was a love of reading that first compelled the members of team Hyler to find an easier way to clip excerpts from extended texts while reading them. In order to digitize texts, you would ordinarily need to type the information out manually, but Hyler allows you to transfer texts from paper to an app just by highlighting them with a pen.

On the outside, Hyler looks similar to a regular highlighter. But beneath the surface, it is much more. Hyler utilizes an optical module and line scan camera to capture text and send it to an OCR (optical character recognition) engine, which digitizes it. This technology can be seen in use in public parking lots which utilize technology that reads and records vehicle license plates. Handheld text scanning presents new challenges however, because of the margin of error that is introduced by the movement of the user’s hand. To address this, the Hyler team developed their patented “source matching” technology, which reduces both character error rate (CER) and word error rate (WER) by around 50%. This technology also allows the user to quickly and easily search for specific information such as figures, tables and numbers in the digitized text. The device can be turned on and off by simply removing or replacing the cap, and it can be used not only to clip text, but also to look up the meanings of words in a range of connected dictionaries and search engines. With a diameter of just 13mm, the device is slim and portable, and if you prefer to clip text without leaving marks on the page the device’s removable tip can be replaced with an inkless one.

“We imagine that people will use Hyler when they’re reading academic studies or working on long documents,” said a member of team Hyler, “Furthermore, we would like to see the texts that users digitize analyzed in order to gain insights into contemporary trends.”

Minsuk Park, the leader of team Becon, started losing his hair in his 20s. For 10 years every hair loss medicine and special shampoo he tried was ineffective, while seeking professional treatment proved costly and inconvenient. “What if there was a way to get professional-level scalp care from home?” he wondered. This was the beginning of Becon.

To make a precise evaluation of scalp conditions, the Becon hand-held device and app can be used to analyze the 10 different elements of scalp health. These include: hair density, follicle count, texture, sensitivity, temperature, moisture and scent, among others. Becon uses a camera with 80X magnification, a CMOS sensor and a machine leaning-based algorithm to analyze the scalp, before recommending a solution that is tailored to the user’s unique condition. Once the user’s scalp has been analyzed, an AI algorithm selects from a list of more than 60 ingredients to design a customized shampoo that best fits the user’s scalp assessment. As time goes on, Becon collects data to deliver a diagnostic report illustrating the progress that has been made regarding the user’s condition.

“We want to keep improving our scalp diagnostic algorithm to provide accurate information to as many people as possible,” a Becon member commented, “As our goal is to enter the global market, we’re currently working on building a database of hair products from all over the world.”

Every house has windows that face in different directions, and a room can often end up feeling cold and dark unless it has windows that face south. Because the human body only synthesizes vitamin D when you are exposed to sunlight, a lack of natural light can be bad for your health. What’s more, according to a clinical review published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, around a billion people worldwide may have deficient or insufficient vitamin D levels. “Is there a way we could enjoy healthy sunlight whenever and wherever we want?” This was the question pondered by team Sunnyside, who put their minds to creating a window-like lighting device that would generate artificial sunlight.

SunnySide mimics the full solar spectrum, which makes the light it generates very similar to actual sunlight. The only difference is that it eliminates UVA, which leads to skin aging, while providing the UVB that is conducive to good health, resulting in the production of “healthier sunlight”. Sunnyside windows are easy to install anywhere, meaning that users can sunbathe indoors and in the process elevate their vitamin D levels without having to worry about skin damage. Users can use SunnySide for a more natural morning wake-up that will help alleviate insomnia and seasonal depression, then enjoy watching the device cycle from dawn, to noon, and finally to a red sunset. In cooperation with Samsung C&T, SunnySide was tested at the Raemian Gallery model house in South Korea. SunnySide was installed in the bathroom space, and the test found that synthesis of an appropriate amount of vitamin D – which would have taken around an hour in regular sunlight – was able to occur in only six minutes while the test subject was in the shower.

“Considering how many people buy bottled water and filter their air these days, it seems only natural that they will soon seek out healthier sunlight,” reports a SunnySide team member, “With SunnySide, you no longer have to go up onto the roof or drive to the beach to get some sun.”

Receiving insufficient amounts of ultraviolet (UV) light can lead to increased chances of bone abnormalities and diabetes. However, receiving too much UV light can cause cataracts and skin cancer. Therefore, ensuring that your body receives the right amount of UV light is important. What’s more, the UV sensors currently available have different incidence angles at different solar altitudes, so it is difficult to precisely measure how much ultraviolet light you are being exposed to. The UltraV team was gathered to address this issue.

The UltraV ultraviolet sensor combines a proximity sensor and photochromic materials. The proximity sensor – which is made up of an LED and PD sensor – is mounted on a smartphone to conserve battery. The photochromic material becomes opaque when exposed to ultraviolet rays, changing the amount of LED light entering the PD and allowing the sensor’s firmware to produce UV index readings. Although the issue of sensitivity reduction according to angle is inevitable in this kind of sensor, the UltraV team were able to drastically minimize this effect to the point where the solution maintains 90% accuracy at an incident angle of 60 degrees. When equipped to a wearable device or smartphone, the UltraV sensor allows users to conveniently monitor the condition of their skin and their vitamin D levels and receive guidance if they are under or overexposed. This type of wide-field-of-vision UV sensor is one of the first of its kind, with patents already obtained in the US, EU and China.

“The sensor we have developed is smaller than a fingernail, which means that it can regulate sunlight intake not only through wearable devices, but also in automobiles and on building windows,” a member of UltraV related, “Our product can be used in an unlimited number of ways, so we are looking forward to seeing where it will best be applied.”