Samsung turns old Galaxy phones into IoT devices

Recently, Samsung announced its Galaxy Upcycling at Home program, which turns old Galaxy phones into IoT devices through a simple software update. With this approach, users can use the sensors built into the old smartphones and use them as IoT devices.

The show is available in beta for Galaxy Upcycling, available in the US, UK, and South Korea. The program will essentially turn old Galaxy phones to be used in completely different situations, such as cameras that help diagnose blindness in patients in underserved areas.

Two main features when users turn old Galaxy phones into IoT devices:

Using an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) solution, Galaxy devices can more accurately distinguish sounds around them everyday and can choose to save certain recordings. For example, if the device detects sounds such as a baby crying, dog barking, cat sounding or knocking on the door, it will alert the user on the main phone and the user can hear the recording again. again.

The device can also be used as a light sensor to measure the level of the room's brightness. Users can easily set the device to automatically turn on the light or TV through Samsung's SmartThings if the room becomes darker than the preset lighting standard.

In order for the phone to detect sound and light, the sensors need to be active continuously for a long time. To achieve this, Samsung has come up with battery optimization solutions to reduce battery usage for phones.

Micah Soto

Update 26 April 2021