At the Samsung Developer Conference 2024 (SDC24), held on October 3rd in San Jose, California, Samsung R&D Institute Poland (SRPOL) wowed the crowd with its groundbreaking contributions in Visual Display, SmartThings ecosystems and Health Technology. It was a momentous occasion as the conference celebrated a decade of open innovation with the theme of "AI for All". Samsung's commitment to making artificial intelligence accessible across its platforms was evident as the company showcased its latest innovations.

Keynote speaker JH Han, Vice President and CEO of the Device eXperience Division, articulated Samsung's vision for more personalized and secure AI experience across the multiple devices, while also addressing the company's principles for ethical AI development. Other speakers expanded upon this vision by providing concrete actions that the company is attempting. Global AI Center and Mobile eXperience Business VPs discussed innovations such as the upcoming One UI 7.0 and advancements in Tizen OS, which integrates AI capabilities to enhance the user experience across the Galaxy ecosystem.

Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and head of SmartThings, revealed some amazing new features! Home Insight, enhanced remote control experience, further development of Map View, Family Care, AI Energy Mode and partnership with Kohler for more sustainable future are all set to revolutionize the way we live.

The close collaboration with CSA around Matter was also highlighted. Visual Display business, represented by VP Moonsoo Kim, provided an overview of current integration with Bixby, which makes our life easier by exploring different types of visual content, including on-demand streaming with TV Plus service.

It’s worth to mention that for the first time on SDC, Enterprise Business division invited developers to start their journey in Digital Signage world: Executive Vice President Alex Lee demonstrated VXT CMS, the breaking change of Samsung approach to enterprise customers, who can now manage content on their large-format displays on their own without additional involvement of third-party system integrators.

SRPOL was front and center at the conference, with Vitaly Zobnin’s division giving a fantastic speaker presentation and three Code Lab sessions led by the brilliant Andrzej Ciekot, Marek Kos, Alicja Kurkus and Joanna Skorupa from the B2B & Service Team. These sessions were a huge hit with developers who got to interact with some of the most cutting-edge tools and innovations out there. It was a great chance for SRPOL to show off its role in driving forward Samsung’s technology initiatives.

Presenter’s Perspective on SDC24 Experience

SDC24 was selected as one of the most important opportunities to present VXT CMS to third-party developers. The main goal of the VXT CMS is to provide easy access to non-technical people to create feature-rich content on various types of displays. To make this content even more fascinating, VXT CMS provided an opportunity for third-party companies to include their business ideas by implementing their own widgets.

The presentation on this topic was conducted by four speakers and included a business explanation part, two success cases and a technical overview. The technical overview was covered by Vitaly Zobnin from SRPOL, who focused on a brief and yet full explanation of the main concept for the developers, so that they will be attracted by this new business opportunity. Participants were interested in the idea and had several discussions with the presenter right after the presentation. Additional impact was the open stage presentation made on the VXT CMS booth, which was visited by several third-party company’s representatives to share their business ideas and discuss integration process. Most of those ideas were related to the main topic of the event, ‘AI for All’, and possibilities to make our world more convenient for people.

Code Lab Sessions: Advancements in SmartThings Technologies and Health

At SDC24, SRPOL mentors led three amazing Code Lab sessions, giving developers a chance to get hands-on with the latest and greatest tools!

The first session was all about the amazing “SmartThings Test Suite”. It showed how SmartThings partners can automatically test their device integrations with SmartThings platform. Participants experienced firsthand how the Test Suite streamlines the testing process, significantly improving both integration quality and certification efficiency. By automating repetitive tasks, the Test Suite lets developers save valuable time while enhancing reliability and accuracy in testing results. This approach is a win-win for both Samsung and its partners, allowing them to shift their focus from time-consuming testing activities to innovation! Overall, this session emphasized the significance of adopting advanced testing solutions like the SmartThings Test Suite, empowering developers and partners to deliver truly outstanding user experiences and get new devices Works with SmartThings certified faster than ever before.

The second and third sessions shifted their focus to health technology, demonstrating how developers can leverage the Samsung’s new data SDK. Samsung Health Data SDK enables an Android application to get rich health data in Samsung Health.

Session titled “Access Rich Sleep Data from Samsung Health Measured by Galaxy Wearables”, equipped participants with the skills to retrieve detailed sleep data from the Samsung Health platform. Through the Samsung Health Data SDK, a brand new Samsung product, developers learned to integrate comprehensive sleep analytics into their applications, enhancing user engagement and providing valuable health insights. The code lab application also allows the developer to filter Samsung Health sleep data by source devices from Samsung Health product family, including smartphone app, Galaxy Watch and the new impressive Samsung product that met with the biggest interest – Galaxy Ring.

The third session: “Building a Health App with Steps from Samsung Health and Its Connected Wearables”, presented usage of step data from Samsung Health. Developers were taught to create applications that obtain and leverage step count data from connected wearables, facilitating the development of comprehensive health and fitness solutions. This session showcased the SDK's ability to seamlessly gather various health metrics, providing developers with a solid foundation for creating innovative health apps within Samsung’s ecosystem.

Overall, these sessions underscored the potential of analytics to deliver personalized health insights, making them particularly relevant for wellbeing oriented developers aiming to enhance their applications with integrated and more robust functionalities.

SDC24 was the perfect opportunity for Samsung R&D Institute Poland to show just how important it is in the ongoing evolution of SmartThings and health technology. The event was a huge success, showcasing not only SRPOL's contributions (we participated as mentors in 3 out of the 12 available sessions at the Code Lab), but also underscoring the broader innovations discussed by key speakers. These included the expansion of Samsung Health, the new SmartThings features, and the introduction of AI enhancements that promise to elevate user interactions with devices.

With the unveiling of One UI 7.0, set to launch in early 2025, and enhancements to the SmartThings ecosystem, Samsung is poised to redefine the user experience in both health and smart home applications.

SDC24 helped Visual Display Business demonstrate direction towards the easiness of usage for current consumer’s TVs by enhancing possibilities for discovery and playback of different content, as well as the enterprise business innovative approach for content creation and delivery with VXT CMS.

This year’s SDC24 was a resounding success, with Samsung's developer community coming together to showcase their innovative spirit and commitment to enhancing everyday life through technology.