SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics commanding an empire in memory chips and smart devices big and small aspires to extend its reach into robotics — with help from its army of startups.
Thirty startups showcased their latest innovations at C-Lab Demo Day at Samsung Electronics’ Seoul R&D campus on Tuesday, offering a glimpse of technologies that could eventually enter the company’s factories and consumer products.
From robotic skin and AI-assisted engineering to wearable walking aids and digital healthcare, the exhibits showed both the possibilities emerging from research laboratories and the work still needed to turn them into viable businesses.
One of the more striking demonstrations came from MIDAS H&T, a Korean startup developing electronic skin that allows robots to detect physical contact.
Its flexible tactile sensors, roughly 0.5 millimeters thick, can stretch across robotic fingers and palms to detect pressure over surfaces that conventional rigid sensors struggle to cover.
The technology could help robots handle delicate objects, from eggs to electronic components, without crushing or damaging them.
"Humans can tell where their hands are being touched or pressed, but robots cannot easily do that," Steve Chang, CEO of Midas H&T told AJP, explaining that the sensors are designed to give robotic hands a sense of touch.
MIDAS H&T is working with Samsung Electronics’ Future Robotics Office to test the sensors on robotic hands, with commercial production targeted for next year.
The technology remains at the proof-of-concept stage. But it reflects a broader ambition in robotics: machines that can feel their surroundings as well as see them.
Another robotics startup, Config Intelligence, is tackling a different challenge — teaching robots to perform tasks using data drawn from human movements.
The company said it had developed technology that converts human hand movements into training data for five-fingered robotic hands, reducing reliance on data gathered directly from robots.
CEO Seo Min-jun said an internal benchmark showed that combining real robot data with converted human movement data improved task performance compared with using either dataset alone.
The company plans to expand its training dataset from roughly 100,000 tasks to 1 million by year-end. Seo acknowledged, however, that further development is needed before the technology can be deployed reliably in industrial settings.
Config Intelligence has attracted 50 billion won in cumulative investment, including funding from Samsung Venture Investment, and is collaborating with Samsung on robotics technology.
AI is also making its way into Samsung’s appliance development process.
The Dimension Company, another C-Lab participant, said it had worked with Samsung’s home appliance division to reverse-engineer about 10 components used in products including refrigerators and washing machines.
Reverse engineering reconstructs a component’s design from an existing part. CEO Lee Ray said the startup’s AI-based approach had reduced certain tasks from an estimated two to three months to several hours.
The company is now testing more advanced design applications, although the technology has yet to reach evaluation for mass production.
Beyond robotics and manufacturing, healthcare startups demonstrated technologies intended to address everyday medical and mobility needs.
Rebodis showcased a wearable robotic device designed to assist older adults and people with mobility difficulties. Weighing about 1.8 kilograms, it aims to make walking and other physical activities easier without the bulk of conventional robotic assistance systems.
A company representative said Rebodis was preparing a crowdfunding campaign in Japan early next year as it explores commercial opportunities.
Digital healthcare startup Lansik demonstrated an AI-powered platform that analyzes data from continuous glucose monitors to predict how an individual’s blood sugar may respond to different foods.
Doctors Biotech, founded by pediatrician Nam Sung-woo, presented technology that analyzes respiratory sounds through an ordinary smartphone, potentially helping parents monitor their children’s symptoms outside hospitals.
Nam said the company was nearing the final stages of the medical device approval process and hoped for a decision within six months.
Resorius, founded by four Seoul National University medical graduates, is developing AI tools to analyze brainwave data and support research into neurological disorders.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jang Jun-ho said the company’s aim was to shorten the long journey from medical research to treatments that could reach more patients.
For Samsung, the exhibition also demonstrated how its startup program is expanding beyond funding and mentoring to connect young companies with potential customers and development partners within the group.
Samsung Electronics President Park Seung-hee said some C-Lab startups had secured investment from Samsung or become business partners, illustrating the program’s role in bringing emerging technologies into established businesses.
Park Nam-hyun, who oversees C-Lab Outside, said Samsung business executives participate in selecting startups. The program then spends three to five months arranging meetings with relevant Samsung divisions to explore potential technology verification projects.
Some collaborations have already moved into practical use.
Park said water treatment technology developed by Geogrid was being used at Samsung’s Suwon campus. Other startups had worked with Samsung’s overseas operations on building management and industrial Internet of Things solutions, which connect equipment and sensors to monitor operations.
Of the 30 startups participating in this year’s event, 15 are conducting technology verification projects with Samsung.
The event also marked a milestone for C-Lab, which has supported 1,000 internal venture projects and external startups since its launch in 2012. The total comprises 434 internal projects and 566 external startups.
Selected C-Lab Outside startups receive up to 100 million won in funding without giving up equity, along with technical consulting, workspace and opportunities to collaborate with Samsung businesses.
For the startups gathered in Seoul, access to Samsung offers a chance to test their inventions against the demands of a working factory or a consumer product.
The next test is commercial: whether robotic skin, human movement data and AI-assisted design can perform reliably beyond the demonstration floor. For Samsung, that will determine how much of its next technological expansion this startup army can deliver.
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