Samsung announced this week that it will be incorporating digital assistant technology, named Bixby, into its upcoming products. This AI assistant was trademarked by Samsung last month and is created to act as a digital assistant for managing personal information.
Vice Chairman of Samsung electronics, Lee Jae-yong, explained the company’s goals of improving its position in the Internet of Things world by providing voice-assistant technologies in home appliances and wearable devices as well.
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Last week, Jae-yong met with executives of Viv Labs. He said the plan is to help consumers by providing ease with how they use Samsung’s products. However, it has not yet been announced what features will be added to the Galaxy S8. Also unclear is what name the personal assistant will officially go by, because it may be called, Viv, despite the trademark name.
Rhee Injong, Executive Vice President of Samsung, stated that the platform would be integrated with third-party services. It appears that Samsung’s acquisition of Viv Labs is a large part of what makes this whole plan possible. Viv Labs is a company built by the creators of Siri, and Samsung will be looking to this company’s expertise for advice on how to design its first digital assistant.
Expect to see Bixby around more often
Viv Labs CEO, Dag Kittlaus, explained that this AI platform will extend its abilities outside of smartphones, to home appliances that users interact with regularly. For example, the digital assistant could offer the opportunity for consumers to request photos to be sent to their phones from their fridges.
Outside of being used for home appliances and wearable tech, there are no apparent big differences between Samsung’s future digital assistant and ones already on the market. However, the incorporation of AI on future devices might be the way in which Samsung plans to move past its recent fiasco with the exploding Galaxy Note 7 and several hazardous washing machine recalls.
