[Report] "Shall I Become a Remote Dutiful Daughter with 'Family Care'?"... A Look at the AI Life Samsung Envisions

June 14 Samsung Electronics CX·MDE Center Media Briefing

'Family Care' Added to SmartThings in June
Remote Operation of Parents' Appliances... Medication, Activity, Refrigerator Ingredients Check

AI Life Solutions Proposed for Newlyweds and Single-Person Households

"Grandmother, you took your medicine on time. It seems like you walked quite a bit today, so please rest instead of doing laundry. I got an alert that the apples in the refrigerator are running low, so I will order and send some to you."

This is what will be realized next month when Samsung Electronics' artificial intelligence (AI) life solution 'Family Care' is integrated into 'SmartThings.' Family Care is a service that allows family members to check the usage of their parents' TV, refrigerator, water purifier, induction stove, and smartphone through the family's SmartThings, and children living far away can remotely control home appliances for their parents. It is a service that Samsung Electronics has devoted great effort to developing for parents and grandparents who are not familiar with digital environments and need meticulous support from their families. It can be seen as Samsung Electronics' first step toward realizing 'AI for ALL.'

Kim Hyunjung, a Samsung Electronics professional, is giving a presentation on 'AI Life' at the CX·MDE (Customer-Centric Multi-Device Experience) Center located in the Suwon Digital City on the 14th.
[Photo by Samsung Electronics]

On the 14th, to get a preview of Family Care, I visited the CX·MDE (Customer Experience·Multi Device Experience) Center located in Samsung Electronics' Suwon Digital City.

The Samsung Electronics CX·MDE Center analyzes and researches usability between products connected to consumers' lifestyle patterns. It was specially opened for a media briefing that day and was implemented to closely resemble an actual home to study customers' daily lives. There were themed spaces such as Health, Music, Games, and Movies, and Samsung Electronics explained that more than 3,000 products could be connected and used together.

During the demonstration, the speaker gave a voice prompt saying, "It's time to take your medicine," at the time the parents were supposed to take their medication, and when the drawer containing the medicine was opened, the medication record was saved. The water purifier adjusted the amount and temperature of water optimized for taking medicine, and if the medicine was not taken on time, the light color changed to red to serve as an alarm.

There was also a feature that detects abnormal activities of the parents and provides notifications. When the parents get up in the morning and drink water or turn on their phone, the first activity of the day can be known through notifications. If the refrigerator or water purifier is not used during a preset time set by the caregiver, an alert can be received. Additionally, children can check inside the refrigerator from anywhere through a camera installed inside the refrigerator, and they can check in real time whether their parents enjoy certain foods, or if there are expired or insufficient ingredients. This service can be seen as one that alleviates the worries of children living apart from their elderly parents.

A Samsung Electronics employee is introducing 'AI Life' at the CX·MDE (Customer Experience Multi-Device Experience) Center located in the Suwon Digital City on the 14th.
[Photo by Samsung Electronics]

Heo Tae-young, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics, said, "We have secured all scenarios suitable for single-person households including parents, but since priorities differ by region and era, we focused on 'Senior Care,' which resonates most in Korea right now. In August and October, we plan to sequentially provide services where robot vacuum cleaners can detect when it is difficult to know the parents' location or recognize if a person has fallen."

Samsung Electronics also offers solutions that can configure optimal AI product packages based on AI scenarios for newlyweds, households with infants, and single-person households besides parents. According to Samsung Electronics' customer analysis, newlyweds are the highest users of AI-related products at 51%, followed by households with infants at 46%, and single-person households at 34%.

Executive Vice President Heo said, "We are producing data tailored not only to Korea but also to Southeast Asian regions with many single-person households and regions interested in energy saving. We plan to gradually introduce practical sales activities by linking consumer campaigns and marketing based on the data."

Lim Sung-taek, Vice President and Head of Samsung Electronics Korea, emphasized, "We will continue to introduce various AI products and solutions to further solidify Samsung Electronics' AI leadership in the domestic market. 'Family Care,' which helps elderly seniors, will be the first step."