From smartphones to televisions to refrigerators, it’s difficult to find technology today that doesn’t sport the Samsung name. And now, the conglomerate is stretching its innovation muscles even further with its C-Lab, or Creative Lab, program. At CES 2018, we can expect to see three new projects from Samsung’s special team, including a portable directional speaker, a device to help folks breathe better, and a pair of smart visual-aid eyeglasses.
“Since launching five years ago, our C-Lab program has gained exciting momentum across Samsung, helping foster an innovation culture, and providing an avenue for our creative, talented employees to pursue innovative new projects,” said Jaiil Lee, vice president and head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics. “We will continuously introduce innovative projects through our C-Lab program.”
First up is the S-Ray, or Sound-Ray, an entirely mobile speaker that will bring its directional features just about anywhere you’d like. Offering to be smaller, lighter, and more affordable than existing directional speakers, the S-Ray promises the same quality of sound (and privacy) as earbuds. These speakers are said to transmit sound more directly to the listener, which means that you’ll be able to hear your music without distracting those around you.
Then there’s the GoBreath, described as “a recovery solution for people who have experienced lung damage and suffer from postoperative pulmonary complications after general anesthesia.” The device comes with a companion mobile app that claims to enable patients who have undergone surgery due to lung pain how to recover faster. The device is said to teach patients breathing techniques including inspiration, coughing, and deep breathing. Moreover, patients can look into exercise guidelines and observe their lung progress by way of the companion app, and send this information to their doctors for constant monitoring.
Finally, C-Lab is debuting the Relúmĭno glasses, which are designed to help those with visual impairments see images or objects more clearly. The companion Relúmĭno app was first introduced at Mobile World Congress 2017, and Relúmĭno glasses provide the hardware component. These spectacles pair with the app, utilizing a smartphone’s processors and batteries. The smartphone actually processes images from videos that are received through the camera of the glasses, and the processed images are then retransmitted to the display of the Relúmĭno glasses.
We’ve yet to see these new inventions in action, but will be able to do so in just a few short days.
