Samsung Launches New Chips To Power The Internet Of Things

Samsung has looked to blow open the Internet of Things (IoT) space with a new complete and open hardware platform aimed at making it easier than ever before to build connected devices.

The South Korean giant unveiled the Artik platform at the IoT World in San Francisco last night, saying that the release will help open up the IoT to more manufacturers than ever before.

Artik is made up of three new chips, which all come with integrated security element with promises better safety than traditional software encryption. Developer can sign up now to be part of the alpha testing programme, with a wider launch expected later this year, although there’s no news on cost as yet.

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“We are providing the industry’s most advanced, open and secure platform for developing IoT products”, said Young Sohn, president and chief strategy officer, Samsung Electronics.

“By leveraging Samsung’s high-volume manufacturing, advanced silicon process and packaging technologies, and extensive ecosystem, ARTIK allows developers to rapidly turn great ideas into market leading IoT products and applications.”

The three new Artik chips include the Artik 1, a 12mm device with Bluetooth and a nine-axis movement sensor including Bluetooth and RFID capability; Artik 5, which packs in a faster 1Ghz dual-core processor and on-board storage; and the Artik 10 (pictured left), which is powered by an octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, as well as Wi-Fi and Zigbee connectivity, which means it should be able to interact with existing IoT equipment.

Samsung believes that all three offerings provide a different set of tools for a wide range of industries, with healthcare, smart homes, and entertainment all being suggested as possible verticals.

“Industry requirements for IoT devices vary in terms of battery life, computational horse power and form factor,” said Sohn. “With this family of ARTIK offerings, Samsung is directly addressing the needs of the widest range of customers, uses and applications.”

The company has been increasingly active in the IoT space in recent months as the true potential of the market becomes more obvious.

The world’s leading smartphone manufacturer has called for more industry collaboration in the IoT, with CEO BK Yoon taking to the stage at CES earlier this year to make the case to help forward the technology.

“The Internet of Things has the potential to transform our society, economy and how we live our lives,” Yoon told the attendees. “It is our job to pull together — as an industry, and across different sectors — to make true on the promise of the Internet of Things.”

Samsung’s announcement is expected to kick off a new revolution for the IoT market, with several other major manufacturers also launching similar platforms – although Samsung’s complete package may give them the edge, experts believe.

“Samsung’s Artik hardware platform follows similar moves from Broadcom, Intel and others. With Qualcomm also set to unveil its IoT strategy this week, the chipset industry is racing to create the tools to accelerate a huge diversity of connected IoT devices from consumer clothing to home servers and gateways,” said Geoff Blaber, vice president, Americas at CCS Insight.

“Samsung’s Artik platform reveals a new Samsung that is committed to openness and understands the importance of developers in creating and scaling an IoT ecosystem. Success will be determined by Samsung’s ability to provide the ongoing support and tools that developers will demand from an abundance of competitors”

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