Many of us go through our daily routines without thinking much about them. For young individuals with Down syndrome, executive functioning differences can make some everyday tasks more challenging to navigate. These individuals often require constant reminders and support from caregivers to complete their everyday routines, placing additional pressure on family members and caregivers to guide them through the demands of daily life.

For Team BuddyBot from Edgefield Secondary School, the newly-crowned Grand Prize winner of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 competition, technology is the key to unlocking greater autonomy for these individuals. Their winning solution, BuddyBot, is a game-changing smart assistant designed to help young people with Down syndrome build independence in their daily routines, while alleviating the burden on caregivers to provide continuous guidance and support.

“Our goal is to help young individuals with Down syndrome develop greater independence when managing their daily routines, while reducing the demands on their caregivers. BuddyBot offers users guided, step-by-step instructions, promoting autonomy and confidence in everyday activities. Designed with accessibility, empathy and inclusion in mind, we hope that it will make lives easier for families with children that have special needs,” said Shannon Ong from Team BuddyBot.

A Smart Assistant for Everyday Routines

Key features of the BuddyBot Companion (left) and the BuddyBot Caregiver App (right)

BuddyBot consists of the BuddyBot Companion – a portable, compact device for users and the BuddyBot Caregiver App. Caregivers can customise the daily routines and break down each task — such as brushing teeth, washing hands and getting dressed — into simple steps using the app. The BuddyBot companion device then delivers instructions through visual prompts and voice guidance to users, guiding them through each task to complete their routines with confidence.

Beyond breaking down the steps into easily digestible instructions, BuddyBot harnesses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse users’ past actions to uncover patterns — such as skipped steps or longer time spent on tasks — and identifies areas where additional support is needed. It also compares the data from the user’s everyday behaviours against the designated routine to provide further suggestions for improvement. This enables BuddyBot to optimise routines and provide timely reminders to help users foster greater independence over time.

Inspiring Youths to Champion Social Change Through Innovation and Technology

Highlights of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 Grand Finale

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Singapore is an annual competition designed to ignite the passion for championing social change among youths. Now into its ninth year, the competition received 90 entries from over 260 secondary school students addressing four key themes: Environmental Sustainability, Sport, Health and Technology, Inclusivity and Social Harmony, and Digital Readiness and Security, presenting innovative solutions that can help build a better and more secure future for Singapore.

As the Grand Prize winner of this year’s competition, Team BuddyBot received $7,000 in cash, $10,000 worth of Samsung products, and a sponsored trip to Samsung’s headquarters and innovation facilities in South Korea. During the trip, Team BuddyBot visited the Samsung Innovation Museum and saw how Samsung’s innovations – from its earliest cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs to the advanced mobile devices of today – solved real-world problems and achieved global impact. They also visited the eX Home, a fully-furnished smart home with over 300 interconnected devices that seamlessly integrate technology into consumers’ everyday lives using Samsung SmartThings. The experience taught them that true innovation is not just about creating cool gadgets, but about connecting vision and fundamental discoveries with societal needs to create tangible long-term impact.

Team BuddyBot receiving their prize from Leonard Tan Bahroocha, Director of Product and Innovation,

Samsung Southeast Asia and Oceania (left), and visiting Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea (right)

“Participating in the Solve for Tomorrow competition has truly expanded our horizons. The trip to Samsung’s innovation facilities in South Korean was an eye-opening experiencing that taught us how innovation that combines vision, fundamental values and the desire to solve real-world problems can create long-lasting impact. Seeing Samsung’s remarkable innovation journey, as well as the passion and inventiveness of other teams, spurs us on to continue our innovation journey. I believe we can achieve so much more if we set our minds to it, and with the right support, mentorship and partners, we can create the change that we want to see in our future” said Bella Teo from Team BuddyBot.

For more information about the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, visit the website.

Samsung’s Antioxidant Index on Galaxy Watch8 transforms what once seemed like science fiction into everyday technology. In five seconds, a thumb scan returns carotenoid levels – the industry’s first measurable nutrition index.^[1]

By miniaturising lab-grade sensor technology, the feature turns your diet into an actionable metric for healthier aging. Establishing this new benchmark in wearable health tracking required years of intensive R&D, countless prototypes and unwavering grit.

Breaking New Ground in Nutrition Tracking

Back in 2018, Samsung saw a critical gap in wearables: we could count steps and calories, yet there was no simple way to measure how our diet impacted our health. Deeper nutritional insights were locked behind expensive and time-consuming lab tests, out of reach for many people.

As people live longer, the focus is shifting from simply increasing lifespan to improving the quality of those additional years.

“In this context, antioxidation naturally gains attention as a method to slow down aging,” explains Dr. Hyojee Joung, a Seoul National University public health nutrition expert who guided parts of the tech’s development. “If antioxidant management is neglected, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) accumulate in the body, increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.”

This realisation made antioxidants the cornerstone of Samsung’s mission. Engineers and scientists focused on carotenoids – key antioxidants and proven indicators of fruit and vegetable intake – to create a device small enough to sit on your wrist, yet powerful enough to turn complex antioxidant data into simple, actionable health insights for everyone.

The first prototype of the spectroscopy-based antioxidant sensor

A clinical-ready version of the sensor

A prototype designed for use in skincare products

Challenge #1: How to Shrink the Lab-Grade Sensor Technology

From day one, the dream of a nutrition-tracking wearable hit an immediate snag: traditional methods for measuring carotenoid levels like Raman spectroscopy are laser-based, non-invasive and precise, but rely on bulky machines that are far from wearable. So, the team’s first mission was to shrink the lab-grade tech into a coin-sized sensor.

After seven years of rigorous testing and optimising since the first prototype, the team developed the miniaturised sensor, a groundbreaking tech that combines multi-wavelength LEDs with a custom photodetector array to provide carotenoid readings in a compact design.

“Our breakthrough was integrating reflectance spectroscopy with LEDs, which allowed us to miniaturise the technology while maintaining a high level of accuracy,” explains Jinyoung Park, a developer from Digital Health Team at Samsung Electronics.

Antioxidant sensor LED-PD sensor modules

Unlike lasers, which emit a sharp, narrow wavelength, LEDs emit a broader wavelength range. By analysing how much light is absorbed by the skin at multiple wavelengths through photodiodes,^[2] the watch estimates carotenoid levels with impressive accuracy. The advanced algorithms that continuously calibrate in real-time also support precision while delivering personalised insights to each user.

The LED-PD Watch prototype testbed

Challenge #2: How to Ensure the Tech Reaches Everyone

Creating a coin-sized carotenoid sensor was a major milestone, but the next challenge was ensuring it could work accurately and reliably across diverse skin types, making it truly accessible to everyone.

To overcome challenges like melanin interference in darker skin tones, Samsung’s engineers opted to use the fingertip for measurements since it has the least melanin across all ethnic groups. They also added simple tweaks, like light fingertip pressure during scans, which helps temporarily reduce blood flow and hemoglobin interference, making the results more accurate.

Extensive trials conducted at Samsung Medical Centre, included hundreds of participants, validating the sensor’s performance. This paved the way for a feature that seamlessly transitioned from the lab to users worldwide, offering an inclusive solution designed for everyday life.

How It Works

Carotenoids are the natural red, yellow, and green pigments found in fruits and vegetables. Since our bodies can’t produce carotenoids on their own, the levels stored in the body offer a clear snapshot of how much fruit and vegetables someone has been eating.

This is where your Antioxidant Index score comes in, reflecting your carotenoid levels based on these categories:

• Very low: Less than 50% of the daily WHO recommendation of 400g per day.
• Low: Between 50%–100%.
• Optimal: 100% or more.

“Skin carotenoids metabolise and accumulatein tissues gradually, so short-term changes in fruit and vegetable intake won’t immediately appear in the score,” explains Dr. Hyojee Joung. “Our research shows that increased carotenoid intake leads to a meaningful rise in skin carotenoid levels after about one to two weeks, making the Index a valuable tool for tracking consistent, long-term dietary habits.”

Lifestyle factors like sleep quality, stress levels, and physical activity also influence the Index, making it a well-rounded indicator of overall health. Paired with other Galaxy Watch8 features like sleep coaching, activity tracking and Vascular Load monitoring, the Antioxidant Index offers a holistic view of your well-being, empowering smarter decisions for healthier aging. ^[1]

The Antioxidant index feature measures carotenoid levels in seconds with the sensor on the back of the Galaxy Watch8 and provides additional nutritional insights on paired Galaxy smartphones.

Your Health, Reimagined

“New wearable sensors can play a role in helping people build healthy eating habits by tracking and encouraging sufficient daily intake of fruits and vegetables,” says Professor Yoonho Choi from Samsung Medical Centre. “Over time, this simple practice can help prevent some cancers and other age-related diseases, making it a very effective way to support long-term health.”

Antioxidants are an emerging area of focus, but research has been limited due to the challenges of accurate measurement. Galaxy Watch8’s Antioxidant Index goes beyond current industry developments and delivers meaningful innovation.

Samsung’s ability to measure antioxidant levels with precision, acknowledged by experts as a benchmark for future research, represents a breakthrough in health monitoring. By helping users identify risks early and take proactive steps towards better health, Samsung is paving the way for a smarter, more proactive approach to wellness and redefining the role of wearables in preventative healthcare.

^{[1] The Galaxy Watch 8 series is not a medical/therapeutic device. It solely intended for fitness and wellness purposes only and is not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition. The result is for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice.}

^{[2] Photodiodes are semiconductor devices that convert light into electrical signals.}