The Age of Experience will transform how we care for ourselves and our family, how we can customize our homes to meet our individual needs, and how we can build safer, more sustainable intelligent cities. By showcasing its latest advances in intelligent robotics, AI, 5G and edge computing, Samsung offered a glimpse into the not-so-distant future in which these technologies will come together to offer richer, more adaptive experiences for consumers.

“In the Age of Experience, we need to re-think the space we have to accommodate our diverse and evolving lifestyles,” said H.S. Kim, President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics. “What makes Samsung’s approach unique is the fact that we have a very clear philosophy built around human-centered innovation. We build and create to solve problems and enhance people’s lives.”

The Next Level of Personal Care

At the core of Samsung’s human-centered vision is personalized care, enhancing the health and well-being of consumers by satisfying their individual needs. During his opening remarks, H.S. Kim unveiled Samsung’s vision of robots as ‘life companions,’ and introduced Ballie, a small, rolling robot that understands you, supports you, and reacts to your needs to be actively helpful around the house.

Sebastian Seung, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Scientist at Samsung Electronics elaborated on Ballie, explaining that its On-Device AI capabilities enable it to be a fitness assistant and a mobile interface that seeks solutions for people’s changing needs. It does all this while maintaining stringent data protection and privacy standards.

“We believe AI is the future of personalized care,” stated Dr. Seung. “We see on-device AI as central to truly personalized experiences. On-device AI puts you in control of your information and protects your privacy, while still delivering the power of personalization.”

A Home Tailored to You

Samsung also offered a peek into the future home. Federico Casalegno, Chief Design Innovation Officer of Samsung Design Innovation Center, stated that the home will offer unique, immersive experiences with cutting-edge innovations like AI, sensors and data analysis: “As a living organism, the intelligent home will be a deeply personal space, tailoring experiences for each of us, according to our personal needs.”

Dr. Casalegno highlighted how spatial boundaries of the physical and digital worlds are dissolving, transforming living spaces into bespoke experience-spaces, like an art gallery, yoga studio or other forms of imaginable space. Such blurring of the two realms, according to Dr. Casalegno, is what will transform the home in the next decade.

He led the first-ever immersive demonstration involving Samsung’s GEMS (Gait Enhancing & Motivating System) technology. The demonstration showed how consumers can use AR glasses to work out with a virtual personal trainer, climb a mountain or walk underwater, from the comfort of their living room, while GEMS aggregated and analyzed results to give personalized action recommendations.

Samsung also showed how a room can be transformed with a screen like its MicroLED display, a convergence of software, AI, IoT and hardware. “A screen is not a product – it’s your window to the world, allowing you to instantly connect to your loved ones and friends as if they are in the same room,” said Dr. Casalegno, emphasizing that smart rooms can provide boundless experiences. “People can see and experience almost everything in the world and even the unknown world through the screen.”

Samsung also discussed the evolution of the modern culinary journey where appliances become cooking partners – a personal chef, nutritionist, and shopping assistant rolled into one. Intelligent and innovative technology can customize the entire food experience for consumers—from thoughtful recipe suggestions and meal planning tailored to personal preferences and what’s on-hand, to seamless grocery shopping, delivery and cooking. The company also highlighted a growing station for garden produce at home, and Bot Chef, a robotic food preparation assistant.

Safer and More Sustainable Urban Life in Smart Cities

Pointing to increasing global urbanization, Samsung outlined its smart cities vision, where intelligent systems enabled by smart devices, platforms and data,will make city life much safer and easier. Emily Becher, Senior Vice President and Head of Samsung NEXT Global, said, “We have the tools and the knowledge to create intelligent systems that make living in the city more engaging, safe, and efficient – so that our children, and their children after that can love living in their cities as much as so many of us do today.” She added, “Smart cities that utilize AI, IoT and 5G will transform how we interact with the surrounding environment in ways that maximize convenience and enjoyment”.

With IoT technology expanding its reach beyond the home to all types of buildings, Samsung’s core vision lies in saving energy, cutting down emissions and helping to achieve sustainability as populations grow.

Smart buildings will also make life more connected and convenient. For example, smart building residents will be able to call elevators, turn lights off, manage deliveries or check for parking spots with a simple swipe or voice command. Intelligent appliances installed in smart buildings will request repairs and address problems before residents even notice the issue.

In realizing the goal of creating a smart city with smart buildings, Samsung emphasized the importance of open collaboration. The company is working towards building partnerships with builders and property managers like Greystar Real Estate Partners, a leading U.S.-based global real estate developer, with which it will devise smart building solutions. “With smart buildings, the residents’ experience will get smarter, more efficient, more effective, so they utilize less energy,” said Bob Faith, Chairman and CEO of Greystar. “Samsung has the ability to bring all the technologies together and that convergence of the technologies in one place is really critical.”

Samsung also demonstrated how the combination of 5G, edge computing and AI will transform the urban transportation experience. Becher shared the company’s vision to lead the new era of vehicles, with 5G technology enabling Vehicle-to-Everything communication, which will seamlessly connect cars to the rest of the city.

Becher added that smart cities combined with 5G will be able to provide experiences unimaginable a few years ago to communities. She noted, “Faster and easier digital connection with each other will strengthen our sense of community and create entirely new forms of interaction.”

Building A Better Place for All

Concluding his 2020 CES keynote address, H.S. Kim stressed that the company is focused on using technology to create a better place for all. He highlighted three key areas of importance for the company going forward: security and privacy, technology for good, and citizenship.

Kim made clear that as an industry leader, the company’s commitment to data security and personal privacy will not waver, and that the protection of security and privacy will be a top priority as technology advances. He stated that the most important thing is putting people in control over their information, “Samsung will never share your data with third parties without prior and direct consent from you.”

He further emphasized that Samsung Knox, the company’s defense-grade security platform, will continue to expand to protect a growing array of Samsung’s devices—from mobile and TVs to home appliances and more. “We will further ensure transparent data management and transfer by advancing our data protection efforts with on-device AI, edge computing, and blockchain technology.”

Samsung also showcased how it is innovating for good, with technologies like Relumino, which can help the visually-impaired see; IGNIS, a tool that helps firefighters make their jobs safer; and GEMS that helps the elderly and disabled to move.

Samsung also underscored a key pillar of its CSR vision, “Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,” by announcing the expansion of the Samsung Innovation Campus program in 2020. Leveraging the success of the many educational programs from the last decade, Samsung Innovation Campus provides the next generation with training on the latest AI, IoT, and cloud technologies. Samsung said the campus has educated more than 20,000 students from 13 countries since its launch in 2019 and will double in size this year.

By providing education for future generations, Samsung is furthering its philosophy that technology’s purpose is to solve social problems and empower people to achieve more to make a better world.

For more information about the details disclosed at CES 2020, including photos and videos, please visit news.samsung.com/uk/. Samsung’s CES booth #15006 is on Level 1 of Central Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center and will be open from January 7 10:00 a,m. till January 10 4:00 p.m, 2020.

▲HS Kim, President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics

The start of a new year is often a time to reflect on the past and look to the future. It is a moment when we take stock of our challenges and opportunities and begin to chart a path forward.

And what better place to look forward than at the world’s largest consumer technology conference – CES 2020, in Las Vegas. It is a conference I look forward to every year, where the most innovative in our industry gather to show people the future and shape the direction of technology.

I’m so excited to have Samsung Electronics at CES once again, leading the conversation about world-changing technological innovations. But as exciting as it is, I have to say that this year is especially unique. It’s the start of a new decade, and I’m honored to kick it off by hosting Samsung’s pre-show keynote on January 6^th.

A milestone year like 2020 gives us a chance to look at the last ten years and set the scene for what’s to come. As I look back, I see a decade of tremendous progress; the smart, connected mobile device became nearly ubiquitous; the Internet of Things (IoT), nascent in 2010, emerged to become one of the biggest growth categories in technology. Today, the majority of our devices are IoT-enabled, and we’ll continue to make them as connected and intelligent as possible in a way that makes sense for our consumers. And of course, artificial intelligence (AI) took shape and is poised to be one of the most impactful technologies of our lifetime, shaping and molding the new ways we live and work.

It is against this backdrop that we gather in Las Vegas for a new decade, to look at what’s ahead. At Samsung, we see a future of opportunity. With the emergence of AI and IoT, finally enabled by the power of 5G, the start of 2020 marks a moment where the realization of our vision for an intelligently connected world becomes a reality.

Of course, to understand the future, we must know where consumers are headed, as their changing tastes and interests continue to propel our company forward. Today, rapid urbanization and shifting demographics are changing how our worlds appear. And with these changes come countless new opportunities to innovate, and to deliver new value to consumers and society. Because as we look ahead, we know people want more. Not simply more things, but more experiences that make these new technologies increasingly meaningful in their lives.

And so at the dawn of a new decade, we see a new age in technology: the Age of Experience.

The Age of Experience will be defined by personalized technology that meets your needs. It means that the devices you use will understand you as an individual, blurring the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds, and changing the way you interact with your cities and communities.

The Age of Experience will help you make a tangible connection with technology in a personal way that was not possible in the past. Instead of changing your routine to incorporate more devices, your devices will work seamlessly for you. Just imagine how much more you could accomplish with an ‘intelligent companion’ that supports you, instantly reacting to your needs.

And what makes this moment particularly exciting is that Samsung is uniquely positioned to lead in this Age of Experience. With our robust investment and proven leadership in IoT, AI and 5G, the experiences of tomorrow will be built on the technologies that Samsung pioneers today.

But what is perhaps the most important for Samsung – and what I am looking forward to sharing further on stage at CES – is our commitment to ensuring that all of these advancements are used as a force for good. I have always believed that technology has a responsibility to be used to better our experiences, to create a better place for all. At Samsung, innovation is about maximizing human potential and working with our valued partners through open collaboration to develop technologies that advance humanity, and I believe that the Age of Experience will set the bar high for 2020 and beyond.

In the end, innovation is not the goal in itself, but a starting point to create a better world as a society, so everything – from consumers, to innovators, to the tech in your home – can work together for tomorrow.

We’ve got so much in store, and I’m excited to share more about how the Age of Experience comes to life in 2020 and beyond. I hope you’ll join me on Monday, January 6^th.

By HS Kim, President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics