• Samsung Digital Health Launch Live Event - May 28, 2014


  • Voice of the Body


  • Personal Stories


  • Simband Open Reference Sensor Module


Media Contacts

Thomas Beermann
Vice President, Communications

Email Address


Phone Number


Daniel Yoo
Sr. Manager, Communications

Email Address


Phone Number


Press Releases

  • May 23, 2014

    Samsung Launches Major Digital Health Initiative

    Company Calls on Innovators and Entrepreneurs to Join in Accelerating Technology Based on Open Hardware Platform and Open Software Architecture Read more

  • February 02, 2014

    Samsung and UCSF Partner to Accelerate New Innovations in Preventive Health Technology






What is Simband?

Samsung Simband is NOT a product. It's an open reference design platform. It's a "blueprint” for building advanced devices that will empower individuals to monitor their own health and wellness more effectively.

Simband will be a way for individuals to listen to their entire body—and understand what it's saying. Devices based on Simband will be able to collect a continuous stream of biodata, then instantly store it in a secure personal cloud, where it can be analyzed to produce actionable insights to help people move towards a better health and a better life.

How is Simband different from other wearable health devices on the market?

Simband is designed to be the basis for wearable health devices that are different from any other on the market. In fact, Simband will be the first open reference design platform for health sensors and data that invites innovators to create and contribute their own advanced sensors, algorithms and data services. Rather than build standalone services from the ground up, this will mean quicker time to market for final products—and a quicker route to better health for everyone.

Samsung is currently working with partners and provides them with the Simband open reference design to use as a platform for developing their own sensors, form factors and applications. Simband prototypes have already been provided to a select set of partners so they can begin working on innovative new technologies. Samsung is also providing validation services in collaboration with world-class healthcare institutions including the University of California at San Francisco.

Why a wristband?
The wrist is the one proven location where people are used to wearing devices 24/7. One of Samsung's key goals is to create a health and wellness wearable that is comfortable enough to be worn all the time, a device that can be worn even while the user sleeps. A truly "wearable wearable.”
Is the wristband the only form factor?
Simband's adaptability is a key feature of the technology. The vision is that eventually, the core technologies of the platform—including sensors, interfaces and software—will be productized in many different ways beyond the wristband form factor. That means future versions of Simband may come in shapes and designs that are very different from a wristband. The only limit for Simband is the imagination of innovators and entrepreneurs.
What sensors does Simband use?

Simband will leverage multiple sensors to monitor a wide range of information. The sensors are designed to measure everything from heart rate and respiratory rate to blood pressure and blood flow. Products based on Simband will contain more advanced body sensors than any other wearable. Efforts are underway to develop the following types of sensors based on the Simband reference design:

  • Multiple photoplethysmogram. A PPG sensor will shine light on your skin to measure changes in blood flow at the microvascular level and monitor physiological phenomena, such as heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs. We're working on a PPG sensor that uses two lights—both red and green at various wavelengths—for even better accuracy.
  • Electrocardiogram. Simband's ECG will measure the rate and regularity of your heartbeat. The ECG sensor is designed to work with the PPG sensor to map pulse arrival time into an estimation of blood pressure.Bioimpedance. Simband will be the first open reference design platform in the world that is designed to leverage bioimpedance to monitor everything from blood flow to body fat.
  • Galvanic skin response. GSR sensors will measure the electrical conductivity of the skin. This could be useful in measuring your stress levels.
  • Temperature. Simband will measure your skin temperature and uses a set of algorithms designed to parse that information to estimate core temperature. This information may be useful in monitoring calorie expenditure and the state of your nervous system.
What is the Simband sensor module?
The Simband sensor module is one of the elements that makes it truly unique. The sensor module has been designed as an open reference design platform to foster development of new digital health solutions. The sensor module allows different sets of sensors to be integrated into a wearable form factor. The open module will be available to the entire technology and medical communities and we encourage these communities to develop new sensors and algorithms for the platform.
Are more sensors on the way?
In order to encourage the development of new, advanced sensor technology, Samsung made the Simband sensor array configurable. Different developers can set up their own combinations of sensors depending on what form factor they're designing.
Where does Simband store the data it collects?
Products based on the Simband platform will store the data they collect in an individual's personal cloud, where it can be analyzed for actionable insights on a continuous basis. While an individual is out for a jog, for instance, devices inspired by Simband will be able to collect an array of signals, store them, analyze them and provide suggestions that are actionable.
Will Simband keep my health data private?
Individuals will have full ownership of all health data collected by Simband and control of access to it. People will have no right to see someone else's data unless they are granted permission.
How can partners work with Simband?
Samsung is encouraging startups and entrepreneurs to develop sensing technologies for the Simband platform. For more information, we welcome partners to contact us here.
When will the Simband open reference design be available?
Full availability of the Simband reference design for developers is expected before the end of the year.
Where can I sign up to learn more?
For more information, we welcome partners to contact us here.
What types of companies are you looking to work with?
We are actively engaging with the tech, medical and research communities to develop new sensors and algorithms.


What is S.A.M.I.?
S.A.M.I. is the Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions. It will allow devices and sensors to bring data to the cloud regardless of the source. The open nature of S.A.M.I. and its APIs will allow for easy aggregation of the data from a variety of devices. Devices will not have to accommodate S.A.M.I.—S.A.M.I. will accommodate them.
What does S.A.M.I. do with the data it collects?

S.A.M.I. is a platform designed to sit between devices that collect data, and algorithms in the cloud that analyze data. These algorithms are the equivalent of the "brains" for S.A.M.I. And, like any brain, they can do more with more information.

That's S.A.M.I.'s job: to make more information available, to break open silos of information and give algorithms access to data. S.A.M.I. is designed to gather data, lots of data, and transfer it to the cloud. There, algorithms and intelligent services transform the big data into small data that can be used by individuals.

What's the relationship between S.A.M.I. and Simband?

Samsung's Simband is an open hardware reference design for wearable technology, capable of integrating the most advanced sensing technologies in the world. Simband is designed in a modular way, allowing for innovation in areas like shuttle battery, form factor and noninvasive sensor technology by different companies.

The sensor module is designed to gather data and information and deliver it to S.A.M.I. via predefined APIs—although it's not only data from Simband that can be stored in S.A.M.I. S.A.M.I. will be capable of collecting data about individuals from a multitude of data sources and devices.

Once it gets to S.A.M.I., data will be analyzed for actionable information and be delivered so that individuals can make intelligent health and wellness choices. All data stored in S.A.M.I. will be part of an unstructured database, where it is able to communicate and cross-pollinate. Under Samsung's approach, S.A.M.I. will allow data to be controlled by the individual generating it and not by third-parties, so that personal health data can be better protected.

How is S.A.M.I. different from other personal-data services?
Other devices operate in silos, collecting and reporting a single set of data. One device might indicate the number steps taken by a user. Another might report today's high temperature. Alone, those data sets are not very interesting or informative. But, if they're combined and analyzed together, which is what S.A.M.I. will do, the result is better insight from contextual information. Because S.A.M.I. is multimodal, it can mash up different data sets and deliver breakthrough insights.
How does S.A.M.I. communicate with me?
The S.A.M.I. interface will reside on any personal device and deliver data to that device. The goal will be to send information that's specific to the individual, in a form that's seamless and easy to digest. When the data has been processed and services have information to report, it will be sent through S.A.M.I. as an "event." S.A.M.I. delivers that information in a way that makes the most sense. This open approach will allow health information to be delivered in the context of a calendar, location, behavior and environment. S.A.M.I. will be providing a personal data cloud and will serve as a partner in better health.
How can developers partner with S.A.M.I.?
S.A.M.I. is an open data platform that enables access to data from multiple devices in order to develop apps and services. It is aplace to sift through information and create new applications that push useful insights back to the users. Open APIs for continuous and historical data enable rule engines, machine learning or analytics to create new insights. Developers will be able to use S.A.M.I. as a platform to build innovative services.
What is the benefit of S.A.M.I.'s open ecosystem?
Through S.A.M.I.'s open ecosystem, for the first time it will be possible to capture historical and real-time information all in one place. Because of that, it will also be possible to deeply explore entirely new types of data in order to create new information and new solutions. The possibilities are quite broad for this technology.
What software does S.A.M.I. use?
S.A.M.I. accepts data in any format and makes that data available through open APIs. By uploading data to the cloud in its original format, and allowing access to various services, S.A.M.I. will enable data to interact and deliver useful insights.
Is S.A.M.I. Only for Digital Health?
To date, S.A.M.I. has been focused in the area of digital health. But because of its ability to aggregate and analyze any kind of data, the platform can also be used in other ways. "Internet of Things" applications such as Smart Home and Smart Cars have already been demonstrated.
Does S.A.M.I. keep personal data private?
S.A.M.I. is designed to store and secure users' data and acts as a personal data bank. Just as a bank doesn't own an individual's money, Samsung doesn't own personal health data, nor would data be shared without consent. Data collected and stored by S.A.M.I. will be personal, private and secure. It's the property of the person creating the data.
What is the link between S.A.M.I. and S Health? Do they compete with each other? How do they work together?
S.A.M.I. complements Samsung's S Health personal health management software. S.A.M.I. could be incorporated as part of S Health to enable new features and capabilities such as greater scale and real time monitoring. S.A.M.I. and S Health could also be used in combination with input from other applications and devices to generate entirely new data sets.
When will the S.A.M.I. API be available?
Samsung currently is working with a few vendors. Full availability of the S.A.M.I. reference design is expected by the end of 2014.
Where can I sign up to learn more?
For more information, we welcome partners to contact us here.
What types of companies are you looking to work with?
Through S.A.M.I.'s APIs, for the first time, it will be possible to collect historical and real-time information all in one place. New apps based on this combination of information will open up a host of new opportunities to learn about health and wellness. Because of that, Samsung is looking to work closely with universities, researchers, scientists, developers, healthcare experts, cloud and big data companies and others.