SAMSUNG OPENS AI RESEARCH CENTRE THAT WILL FOCUS ON ROBOTICS

Samsung announced that the company will open a new artificial intelligence (AI) research centre in New York City to strengthen its AI capabilities and focus on robotics.

Samsung also said that it planned to expand its advanced AI research capabilities to employ about 1,000 specialists in 2020. This would be Samsung's sixth AI centre around the world, and it would work in partnership with Samsung's other AI research facilities. The additional AI centres are in Korea, the UK, Canada, Russia and Silicon Valley, in the US.

"We are excited to open a new Samsung AI centre in New York, which will specialise in robotics research," said Justin Hume, director: integrated mobility at Samsung South Africa. "New York is one of the world’s great cities, and with this new facility, we will be able to leverage the tremendous talent in the area. We also look forward to collaborating with top universities and academic centres in the region."

"The field of AI has made revolutionary progress by finally embracing neural networks," said Hume. "This is just the beginning of a new era of innovation in AI, and Samsung is proud to be part of this exciting quest."

The new AI centre will contribute to Samsung's AI research with their unique regional strengths, and Samsung is expected to expand its AI centres to other technology and talent-rich areas to cement its place as a leader of AI research in the industry.

The New York AI centre will be led by Daniel D Lee, executive vice president of Samsung Research and a global authority in AI robotics, who joined Samsung Electronics last June.

With co-operation from a leading authority in neuroscience-based AI technologies, H Sebastian Seung, executive vice president of Samsung Research at the New York AI Centre, will spearhead the advanced AI research in robotics.

As the chief research scientist of Samsung Electronics, Seung will also advise Samsung on advanced AI research in developing future business growth opportunities.

"What we need now is to focus on creating new values that make people’s lives easier and more convenient by harnessing the power of AI in Samsung’s products and services," said Hume. "To do this, our Global AI Centres, including the New York AI Centre, must play a pivotal role."