Samsung introduces ARTIK chips to power Internet of Things
Wed 13 May 2015
Samsung will launch a new open platform dedicated to supporting the development of wearables and other smart devices, such as fitness trackers and drones, both simplifying and speeding up the process for developers.
The new package, named ARTIK, includes three tiny circuit boards, hardware and software technical support, developer tools, as well as an encryption feature for security. The new set of “building blocks” was unveiled at the Internet of Things World conference in San Francisco yesterday.
“ARTIK provides a platform for developers who simply want to focus on building and testing new ideas for IoT. Rather than spend [their] time writing low-level libraries, [ARTIK] development tools and open APIs [will] bring wearable tech, smart devices and hubs to market more quickly, cheaply and easily,” read an announcement on the ARTIK blog.
The smallest chip produced in the range, ARTIK 1, designed specifically for wearable devices and end nodes, measures just 12mm by 12mm and Samsung claim that it is the “world’s smallest IoT module.” It includes a 9-point axis motion sensor, as well as Bluetooth connectivity. According to the company, the ARTIK 1 can run for a week from a single charge. It added that a smartwatch could be powered for three weeks on a single charge, even if continually kept in on-mode and connected to a smartphone.
At the top end of the range, the ARTIK 10 is an eight processor chip and provides 32 Gb of storage. “It’s as powerful as a smartphone and renders high-resolution video […] it can drive home servers, media hubs, personal clouds and more,” claims Samsung.
The electronics giant not only plans to sell the ARTIK platform to business clients, but hopes to use the technology to support the development of its own smartphone and smart appliance offering.
A SmartThings Open Cloud was also announced by Alex Hawkinson, CEO of SmartThings, acquired by Samsung last summer.
