Samsung event unveils Simband and SAMI health initiatives

Samsung promised a discussion about health when they first announced their event earlier this month and the company definitely delivered as they promised. Two new health related initiatives were introduced by the company and though technically no new products were included, the framework has been put in place.

Kicking things off, Samsung revealed the Simband prototype smartwatch, a device that utilizes various sensors to monitor different health parameters. Straight out of the box the Simband should be able to track heart rate and blood oxygen saturation, but the plan is for it to use next-generation sensors to go as far as checking blood glucose, hydration and other information in the future. The device would also be compatible with an external "shuttle battery", allowing 24/7 usage instead of being removed to recharge.

The Simband is designed to work in conjunction with Samsung's other healthcare platform, SAMI or Samsung Multimodal Architecture Interaction. The cloud-based service would receive information over Wi-Fi from the Simband, providing an interface for healthcare workers and consumers to review the data. Interestingly, both the SAMI and Simband will be open-sourced, a feature that Samsung hopes will attract various companies and propel their new technology.

Unfortunately, both of these platforms remain in the prototype stage, with no consumer launch expected in the near future. Samsung will be making the API and a "beta" Simband available to developers before the end of the year and we'll have to see what comes as a result.

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