Samsung to build IoT products on mass scale in 2-3 years

Seoul: South Korean technology major Samsung is drawing up plans to commence mass production of IoT-enabled products in the consumer durable space in the next 2-3 years, a top company official said.

This is expected to make this high-end, cloud-based connected technology more affordable for developing markets and emerging economies. IoT stands for Internet of Things.

Samsung, which recently launched its first IoT-enabled washing machine in India, plans to introduce more connected appliances that can be controlled through devices such as smartphones.

Asked about the timeframe, Samsung Electronics Executive Vice-President (Product and Innovation Team of Mobile Communications Business) Patrick Chomet said: "In the next 2-3 years, the company would start mass production of IoT-based devices... I would expect that (IoT connectivity) would be quite happily available for mass market devices."

The company expects its mid-segment products to be IoT- driven as well. Currently, only a few top-end models in key categories have such features.

IoT refers to a network of devices and sensors connected through the Internet.

The Korean chaebol had started investing in IoT and cloud technologies many years ago.

"Investment to plan the technology and build the technology for IoT and cloud started several years ago. The investment on artificial intelligence started several years back," he said, adding that "we believe we have a very competitive portfolio".

The company has announced to launch the second edition of its voice-powered digital assistant 'Bixby' by the next year that will work on multiple devices, including televisions and refrigerators.

In India, the government has formed a high-level forum with an aim to start 5G service by 2020, a technology that will deliver wireless broadband speed of about 10,000 mbps in urban areas and 1,000 mbps in rural belts.

This 5G spectrum is used for IoT to control and operate devices.