The IoT (Internet of Things), based on M2M (Machine to Machine) communication, is fast becoming a reality.
Since the beginning of 2016, the IoT has been emerging as the centerpiece of almost all industries. The potential economic value of the IoT is estimated to reach 11.1 trillion won in 2025.
Against this backdrop, we present South Korea’s 5 most promising IoT products that are expected to become hits in 2016.
<>Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator
Samsung Electronics’ Family Hub Refrigerator, the newest addition to Samsung's IoT collection based on Samsung’s IoT platform “Smart Home Hub,” won the highly coveted CES 2016 Innovation Award. A large tablet-like 21.5-inch full-HD touchscreen is located on one of the Internet-enabled stainless steel fridge’s doors to shows what mode each compartment is in and provide temperature and humidity infographics.
Also users can get recipes and tips via the Chef Collection App, developed in collaboration with world-renowned chefs.
<> Biometric data analyzer Gearbitsⓢ
Smart sportswear Gearbitsⓢ has been unveiled by Korean software developer HandySoft. HandySoft is regarded as a leading Korean IoT company as it has developed ‘Smart Office Solution’ based on open-source IoT platform ‘Handypia,’ as well as ‘Smart Boiler Service’ in collaboration with Kiturami Boiler.
Gearbitsⓢ, smart underwear developed in collaboration with underwear brand Good People, is designed to manage body condition indices and predict the likelihood of contracting disease by processing biometric data sent from our body.
<> Automatic pet feeder “Karmi2”
Then comes an IoT-based automatic pet feeder. Karmi2, an automatic pet feeder equipped with a camera, has been released by Seon Electronics, a Korean electronics company that holds WiFi and Bluetooth-based wireless network technologies and is capable of designing and producing products using various kinds of multipoint control units (MCUs) (e.g. STM32) and sensors. Once pet owners have set feeding times and amounts via their smartphones, Karmi2 will do the rest.
<> LEGO-compatible, IoT-based building blocks “Smart Toy”
Smart Toy -- smart building blocks developed jointly by NineOne (a Korean developer of mobile communication systems) and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) --is fully compatible with Lego's Duplo bricks, and can express the five human emotions via digital technology.
Offering the ZigBee-based Trigger Network function, Smart Toy enables controlling bricks via smartphones or Bluetooth communication. NineOne has unveiled an assembly-type flat 80 set with bricks in eight colors and 10 types of smart bricks (including LED, Dot-matrix, Sound, Camera, Display and Touch). Smart Toy is basking in attention as it has grafted IT onto the analog sensibility delivered by the time-honored pastime of playing with Lego bricks.
<> “Yanolja KOTEL,” a smartphone app to be used as motel room keys
One of the most interesting IoT ideas comes from the accommodation industry. Yanolja, the first motel room booking app in South Korea, has launched KOTEL, a smart key app that allows motel guests to by-pass front desk check-in and simply use their smartphones to enter their motel rooms. KOTEL is an IoT online-to-offline (O2O) service.
KOTEL appeals greatly to young privacy-conscious consumers as it lets them digitally check in and check out without making any face-to-facet contact with front desk clerks.
