Samsung’s expanded developer tool stack supports more accurate health monitoring, preventative safety in driving, medical research and deeper wellness insights
Samsung Electronics unveiled a series of new tools ahead of the Samsung Developer Conference 2022 (SDC22) that will aid developers and communities in shaping health, wellness and safety habits for consumers everywhere. These tools include the Samsung Privileged Health SDK program for select partners, the Fall Detection API to support user safety, Samsung’s new end-to-end research solution for educational, clinical and healthcare programmers, as well as ongoing opportunities for partners with Health Connect.
“Samsung’s health foundation is rooted in our advanced hardware and sensor technology and is bolstered by our open ecosystem and collaborative approach,” said TaeJong Jay Yang, Executive Vice President and the Head of Health R&D Team at Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics. “That is why I am excited to announce expanded developer tools, APIs and partner offerings that allow third-party experts, research centers and universities to advance wearable tracking and insight capabilities for a wider health, wellness and safety.”
Samsung Privileged Health SDK: Advancing Preventative Safety in Driving
Samsung is collaborating with select industry leaders to develop personalized health services. With safety as one of Samsung’s focus areas, these collaborations will deliver all-new preventative tools to make roads safer by identifying early signs of driver fatigue and stress.
Samsung’s work with Tobii, a global leader in eye-tracking and attention computing that develops software to monitor drowsiness, is one example. If users choose to, Samsung’s Privileged Health SDK enables Tobii to sense real-time heart rate captured by Galaxy Watch sensors and process them to determine the user’s level of drowsiness. Also, Harman, a leader in connected car technology, audio innovations and IoT solutions, has recently introduced Ready Care, a complete automotive in-cabin sensing and tailored solution for driver safety and comfort. In addition to distraction, fatigue and vital sign sensing, users can allow Ready Care to measure cognitive load and stress level and can provide suggestions for alternative routes to lower a driver’s stress.
Health Services: New Fall Detection API for Enhanced Safety Capabilities
Health Services provides APIs that allow developers and third parties to harness the powerful sensors and algorithms on the Galaxy Watch for more accurate and advanced health offerings. Samsung is introducing a new API to the ecosystem that offers adjustable sensitivity for Fall Detection, strengthening preventative safety and setting the stage for even more potential offerings.
Developers can now create services using Galaxy Watch’s Fall Detection algorithms that sense a user’s stumble or fall by combining different sensors including an accelerometer and gyroscope. This API enables development of apps for users who may encounter unexpected accidents. Furthermore, Galaxy users are even able to adjust sensitivity levels — whether standing still, moving, or exercising — via the Galaxy Wearable app. Like sleep tracking that senses restless movements or falls from bed to paint a more complete picture of a user’s sleep, this API opens all new opportunities for developers and users alike.
End-to-End Research Solution: Accelerating Medical Service and Research
Samsung is also introducing an open-source project that provides end-to-end solutions combining SDK, backend system and portal for a variety of health applications. This all-in-one healthcare toolset empowers research and clinical experiences — starting at the developer level — by delivering advanced insights through Galaxy Watches and wearables to support medical research at institutions, hospitals, wellness centers and beyond.
Researchers can use this open source project to build modules that enable participants to join a study in a frictionless and informed way, streamlining the onboarding process. Flexible survey templates are also in place to satisfy the ever-changing needs of organizations. From there, relevant data and insights are gathered more easily from wearable devices, while participants are guided with actionable insights throughout the process. Encrypted participant data is then transmitted to the backend system where health and medical communities monitor and analyze the collected insights to inform patient treatment plans, upcoming research and much more. More details of the new project will be announced at SDC22 keynote by Sebastian Seung, President and the Head of Samsung Research.
Health Connect: Greater Insights and Data Control
Health Connect, announced in collaboration with Google during the spring of 2022, offers developers a single set of APIs enabling the seamless creation of new fitness and health experiences. Currently available in beta, Health Connect offers users centralized privacy controls that make it easy to give permission to the health and fitness apps they want to share their on-device data with. Now, Samsung Health and Fitbit, along with leading health and fitness apps including Leap Fitness, MyFitnessPal and Withings have adopted Health Connect to enable a more impactful and holistic wellness experience. And with a user’s permission, app developers can leverage certain data shared through Health Connect for use in their own applications in order to provide users with a more complete picture of their health.
Samsung is committed to giving its community — including users, third parties, developers and beyond — enhanced tools and resources to build and benefit from more connected and diverse health services. As part of Samsung’s overarching wellness initiatives, the company will continue to deliver an expansive ecosystem — which the Samsung community will hear more about during the SDC22 — that empowers users with more insights and information on health and wellbeing.
