Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has 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 Outside: 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 Startups

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 revitalisation 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 analyses 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 personalised 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 monetise 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.

*This article contains products and features currently in development. The plans, product claims, timelines, and specifications described are subject to change without notice. Their future availability is not guaranteed.

*Availability may vary per region, country or carrier.

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.

^[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.

Since program inception in 2012, Samsung has incubated about 870 startups and projects

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 9 January through 12 January 2024. 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 visit: https://news.samsung.com/za/ces-2024

^[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: 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 of customisation 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]

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 recognised for its efforts on digital responsibility as the company had established its artificial intelligence (AI) ethics principles. Having recognised 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 utilise them. WBA recognised Samsung’s SeeColors app^[1] that makes colour adjustments to aid those with colour vision deficiency (CVD) and helps them enjoy a better viewing experience with optimised colours on Samsung TVs.

The company’s C-lab Outside program in Korea that is designed to foster the start-up 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 Citisenship 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 utilise 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

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

Through C-Lab, Samsung 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 realised 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 recognises 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 utilise 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 utilised for various purposes such as virtual concert halls for sharing performance videos, online training venues and virtual meeting rooms. In addition, anyone can easily utilise 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 utilise 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 utilising 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 instil 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 that has been seeking to invigorate the start-up ecosystem since 2018.

The Samsung Galaxy Upcycling program allows Galaxy phone owners to retrofit the hardware and software of antiquated, used Galaxy phones into new technology products such as closed circuit TVs, gaming consoles, and IoT devices. The program puts the tools for transforming devices into new technology in consumers’ hands by providing them with the necessary software changes and suggested hardware changes that enable new functionality. The program was created from the company’s innovation hub, C-Lab, and will launch in 2018.

“The Galaxy Upcycling program provides an innovative and environmentally responsible approach to consumers who want to repurpose their existing technology to have new and differentiated functionality,” said Michael Lawder, Senior Vice President of Customer Care at Samsung Electronics America. “We’re honored to receive this award for our Galaxy Upcycling program and for our continuous efforts in sustainability throughout the product lifecycle.”

This is the second time in 2018 that the Galaxy Upcycling program has been recognized in the U.S. for its innovative re-use and recycling efforts. In January, the Galaxy Upcycling program received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Cutting Edge Champion Award.

The Environmental Leader Awards recognizes companies that provide innovative technology and solutions to sustainability and environmental problems. In addition, Dr. Dochul Choi, Senior Vice President of R&D at Samsung Electronics America, was honored as a Top 75 2018 Environmental Leader for his efforts in driving sustainability management. The awards were presented yesterday in Denver, CO at a ceremony during the Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference.

Source: Newsroom Global

More information about Samsung’s sustainability initiatives can be found at https://news.samsung.com/us/sustainability/.

Indoor Smart Garden Solution PLANTBOX

AGWART created ‘PLANTBOX,’ an indoor smart garden solution that enables users to easily grow vegetables and herbs at home. PLANTBOX consists of a smart greenhouse similar to a small refrigerator, seed capsules and an app. Users only need to insert the seed capsule of choice and PLANTBOX automatically detects the species of the seed and optimises its internal environment including lighting, temperature, humidity, air quality and nutrients. Users are also able to monitor and control the environment via the app.

Portable Directional Speaker ‘S-Ray’

CATCH FLOW developed ‘S-Ray,’ a portable directional speaker. Unlike conventional speakers which spread out sound in all directions, S-Ray sends the sound directly forward so only the people in the right direction can hear it. Overcoming technical difficulties from previous researches, CATCH FLOW was able to build a smaller, lighter device – only one tenth the size of a conventional directional speaker. Compared to previous solutions, S-Ray also runs on lower power, without impacting volume or sound quality.

AI-based Research Platform ‘AppBee’

FOR MAKERS built ‘AppBee,’ a research platform that connects clients and users based on mobile usage patterns. AppBee, after users’ opt-in, predicts their characteristics by analysing their mobile usage patterns and automatically matches the users to suitable clients through AI-based algorithms. FOR MAKERS hopes to produce more reliable research results at a lower cost compared to conventional, untargeted surveys to enable creators – start-ups and large corporations alike – to refine products based on user feedback.

The three new start-ups have engaged in business consulting and mentoring programs with field experts for the past three months, to obtain business know-how and prepare for the successful spinoff. They have officially left Samsung Electronics as of May 31, 2018.

Justin Hume, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung South Africa, says, “It’s always exciting to see what comes out of innovation and such a privilege to be part of new ideas and technology that are set to change the world.”

A number of C-Lab alumni are already proving to be fruitful. 2017 spin-off Monit will be launching its first commercial product ‘Monit by Huggies’ – a baby nappy sensor that distinguishes between urine and faeces and notifies parents – in partnership with Yuhan-Kimberly this June. Monit is also planning to expand to incontinence briefs for adults, for use in hospitals and senior care centres. Linkflow, which develops wearable cameras, saw its value increase 20-fold, after it was spun off in 2016. Linkflow’s FITT360 Security camera has especially been attracting attention from security companies around the world.

“During the past three years, 34 start-ups with 130 employees were spun off from C-Lab and they have hired an additional 170 people from outside of Samsung,” said Jaiil Lee, Vice President and Head of Creativity & Innovation Centre at Samsung Research. “We will continue to give opportunities to our employees to realize their innovative ideas as an entrepreneur in start-ups accelerated by Samsung.”

^{About Samsung Electronics’ C-Lab}

^{Created in December 2012, C-Lab is an in-house idea incubation program that encourages a creative corporate culture and nurtures innovative ideas from Samsung employees. The program supports the development of ideas from all areas of the business. Introduced in 2015, the C-Lab spin-off policy helps Samsung employees who have successfully completed C-Lab projects to launch their own start-ups.}

Josh Ives, VP of Customer Experience, and Jenni Chun, Manager of Corporate Regulatory & Environmental Affairs, both of Samsung Electronics America, accept the 2017 Cutting Edge Champion Award and Gold Tier Award for the company’s continued sustainability efforts. Presenting the awards was Barnes Johnson, Director of the EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.

The Galaxy Upcycling programme allows Galaxy phone owners to retrofit the hardware and software of antiquated, used Galaxy phones into new technology products such as closed-circuit TVs, gaming consoles, and IoT devices. The programme puts the tools for transforming devices into new technology in consumers’ hands by providing them with necessary software changes and suggested hardware changes that enable new functionality. The programme was created from the company’s innovation hub, C-Lab; and will launch in 2018. The Cutting Edge Champion Award was presented to Samsung for the Galaxy Upcycling programme’s innovative and environmentally responsible ways to use a product’s materials throughout its entire life cycle. Samsung has been the exclusive honouree of the Cutting Edge Champion Award since the award’s inception in 2017.

“In an effort to curb e-waste and extend the lifecycle of our existing technology, we introduced the Galaxy Upcycling programme which repurposes technology resources into new devices,” said Michael Lawder, Senior Vice President of Customer Care at Samsung Electronics America. “We’re honoured to receive the Cutting Edge Champion Award for this programme and our efforts to extend a products’ life-cycle by repurposing its functionality.”

The second distinction was given to Samsung for the company’s long-term commitment to the proper recycling of e-waste in the U.S. In 2016, the company’s electronics recycling programme collected and responsibly recycled over 53 million kilograms of e-waste in the U.S., which made it one of the world’s biggest collectors of e-waste. Samsung is being recognised in this category for the fourth year in a row.

“Samsung’s creative reinvention of old electronics through their unique upcycling programme is environmental ingenuity at its finest,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “I commend Samsung for their innovative efforts to turn old smartphones into new technology products, and I encourage others to follow their lead.”

The awards were presented in Las Vegas at a ceremony during CES 2018.