Nowadays Samsung seems to invest more and more into research and looks like the latest efforts are set towards making the Internet of Things a fact. To this effect the Korean giant has set up a new research lab aimed at drones, robotics, virtual reality and 3D printing. Kudos for Samsung and don’t stop trying to innovate. Or branch out for that matter. This new research lab will be part of Samsung’s mobile division but will act on an independent capacity building on the work done in robotic vacuum cleaners or VR headsets (see Gear). According to Samsung mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun technicians, strategists and product managers were designated for this team and looks like they mean business. Maybe this move is meant to somewhat avert the Apple and Xiaomi threat that made Samsung’s sales plummet lately.
Part of Samsung CEO Boo-Keun Yoon plan to make everyday devices connected this would seem a bold move. And a long road will follow still for Samsung who needs to start looking up for developers and start-ups that could create the necessary apps based on the newly developed gadgets and devices. Yoon took this quest to heart to find the innovative and cutting edge companies to stem their ideas to the big wide market and as such he pledged $100 million in funding for the Internet of Things developers. Striding far from the previous competitive pricing business credo, Samsung seems determined to offer consumers next-level technology. The possibility to connect across different industries and sectors is attractive but that could also reach to segmentation as well and this might pose a hiccup for the tech companies racing for profit. Which OS or ecosystem would prevail? The unseen barrier between device connections may they be cars, smartphones and generally-speaking gadgets might just be crossed one more time thanks to this endeavour.