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​Samsung to apply more AI, voice recognition to smart home line-up

By 2020, all of Samsung's home appliance line-up will have smart features, the company said.
Written by Cho Mu-Hyun, Contributing Writer

Samsung Electronics will apply smart features to all its home appliance products by 2020, including more artificial intelligence (AI) and voice recognition features, the company said.

The South Korean tech giant said it will expand connectivity and increase user experiences of individual smart devices to give more "added-value".

Samsung also said it will bring together tech knowhow in three core areas: AI and voice recognition, a connecting platform, and a cloud stack.

The company is offering AI-based voice recognition for its Family Hub refrigerator. Currently, users can find recipes and order groceries, but this will be evolved to control other devices it's synced with in the home.

Users will be able to call robot vacuum cleaners to the kitchen or turn on washing machines through the refrigerator, Samsung said.

The South Korean tech giant's Samsung Connect platform, which allows control of its smart home products through one app, will be used to configure all cloud connected devices. Samsung currently also offers its Connect Home Wi-Fi router, which can be used to control 130 products that can be synced with SmartThings in the US.

Samsung will also offer an AI-based remote diagnosis service in real-time through Samsung Connect via an upgrade. Currently, users have to call the firm's service centers; the upgrade will include regular analysis reports sent to the user's smartphone and suggestions via the app instead of a phone call.

Samsung Mobile CTO Injong Rhee previously said its Bixby AI platform, currently available in smartphones, will be expanded to the firm's other devices.

Bixby, which can be used to load Samsung Connect, will be used to control devices in the home, while the Family Hub will mainly be the kitchen platform.

The company will also cooperate with members of the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), such as Amazon and Google, who follow the OCF 1.0 standard for connected devices. Currently, Samsung's home appliances can be connected with Amazon's Alexa, and its robot cleaner with Google Home. In South Korea, they can be used with SK Telecom's Nugu AI platform and KT's Giga Genie.

Samsung is planning to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 on Wednesday, which will later be updated with more voice features outside of South Korea and the US.

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