We’re not even into 2020 yet, and already Samsung has pulled back the curtain on some of its future-gazing innovations for 2020 and beyond, with its latest selection of C-Lab innovations hitting the limelight.
The company’s C-Lab initiative began in 2012, and is used as an ideas platform for Samsung employees. It typically generates left-field yet fascinating devices, and the 2020 batch appears to be no different.
In previous years we’ve seen products ranging from clothing advertising solutions for live-streaming, to perfume blenders. With the latest offerings covering scalp scanners and invisible keyboards, C-Lab’s penchant for the wacky continues unabated.
Samsung’s C-Lab allows its employees to get creative with radical new products and designs and in some cases products are even spun out into their own start-ups. Most won’t see a commercial release for some time, if ever, but we have been promised a first-look at these at the upcoming CES in January.
SelfieType
Smartphones might be getting larger, but typing long missives on a six-inch screen can still prove uncomfortable after lengthy periods. Samsung believes it might have the answer, with SelfieType, its invisible keyboard technology.
Torn from the screen of a Mission Impossible movie, the SelfieType isn’t actually a physical keyboard, instead using the selfie camera on a smartphone to track the user’s fingers as they type in a space in front of the device.
Samsung claims that the technology can be utilized without the need of additional hardware, and that it can be applied to various devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Becon
Receding hairlines are an issue for many, but so far technology has failed to come through with a user-friendly solution. Samsung thinks that it might have had a breakthrough with the Becon.
Becon is a diagnostic tool that is designed to analyse the user’s scalp, taking into account dead skin, hair follicle density, and humidity. Once the necessary analysis has been completed, treatments are recommended through the accompanying app.
The key area here is that Samsung has not yet revealed what exactly these recommended treatements are likely to be, which is the million dollar question. We’ll need to wait a little longer to find out if the Becon is really the solution to thinning hair woes.
SunnySide
Another healthcare product from Samsung’s C-Lab, SunnySide is a device designed to synthesize Vitamin D in spaces where no natural light is available.
In design the SunnySide resembles a small window, and can be placed on a wall like a picture frame. The light is designed to mimic natural light and follow the spectrum expected from sunlight.
Samsung claim that the SunnySide device sidesteps traditional concerns associated with the sun, such as skin aging or sunburn.
piBo
CES is a playground for tech companies to show off their latest robotic hardware, and next month you can expect to see piBo, Samsung’s newest electronic buddy.
piBo is a product from Circulus, a Samsung startup. Designed for ‘single person households’ according to the company, among its functions are holding conversations and providing information services such as the news and weather.
The small robot is also capable of recgonizing facial emotions from its users and responding accordingly. Further features are said to be available in the future via the robots’ own app store.
Hyler
Hyler is a smart-highlighter which can read text and digitize it. It also has a ‘search’ mode which can be used to carry out searches for highlighted words and phrases, when the pen is wifi-connected to search engines and dictionaries.
The Hyler is an interesting bit of tech, but on the surface doesn’t appear to do much new. There have been similar products on the market for many years, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out what exactly the Hyler can do that makes it stand out from other devices.
