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Samsung CEO Boo-Keun Yoon Reveals His Smart Home Vision

...and displays a surprising commitment to open standards.

Credit:
David Kender
Written by David Kender, editor in chief with 15+ years testing every kind of consumer product.

Updated October 2, 2014

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In his IFA 2014 Opening Keynote address, Samsung President and CEO Boo-Keun Yoon laid out what his company believes is necessary to push the smart home industry toward a cohesive and functional future. The key, he said, is open standards.

"Change is coming and coming fast," said Yoon. With global population trends shifting towards cities, we will have to adapt to high-density living.

By 2018, Yoon stated, the smart home market will be close to $100 billion, with 45 million smart home systems installed worldwide...

These challenges create very real economic opportunities for the industry. By 2018, Yoon stated, the smart home market will be close to $100 billion, with 45 million smart home systems installed worldwide, citing research from Strategic Research and IHS.

Samsung is in an enviable position to make good on the promise of a unified smart home. With a deep reach into most areas of consumer electronics, it has the leverage to create an integrated standard. Its recent acquisition of SmartThings only strengthened its standing, broadening Samsung's reach to over 1,000 additional devices created by the SmartThings' community of developers and inventors.

SmartThings CEO Alex Hawskinson, made an onstage appearance during Yoon's keynote to re-emphasize that SmartThings will remain independent and continue to pursue open standards.

SmartThings CEO Alex Hawkinson joined Yoon on stage to reconfirm their commitment to open standards. SmartThings was recently acquired by Samsung.

Yoon went on to outline three key concepts for the smart home.

The first, "Show Me," emphasized the need to display complex information in a simple way, such as when and how to take your medicine. The second, "Know Me," illustrated the need to recognize and adapt to your lifestyle patterns. Finally, "Tell Me" suggested that smart devices should provide suggestions without being asked. Your home should be able to recognize the leftover ingredients in your fridge, for instance, and suggest recipes to use them up.

Yoon's focus was on a human-centered approach, rather than an obsession with the technology.

Yoon's focus was on a human-centered approach, rather than an obsession with the technology. "It's not about being smart and connected," he stated. Rather, it's about giving you the right options at the right time.

It's the ideal sort of sentiment for a keynote speech—warm, inviting, and non-threatening—but many technical obstacles must be overcome before Yoon’s smart home vision can become a reality.

The current smart home environment is a morass of warring ecosystems as companies big and small hash it out for market dominance. Perhaps over the next year—as Samsung, SmartThings, and SmartThings' existing partner network put their heads together on new collaborations—we might we see some true progress.

Check out all of Samsung's IFA 2014 Announcements: