The Internet of Things is essentially the concept of having a completely interconnected network of devices which can all talk to each other to enable various different functions between them. Samsung today has announced a new platform for the rapid manufacturing and deployment of IoT devices called Artik, which is a series of three different system on chips to power just about any connected device imaginable from TV’s to wearables. Samsung registered the trademark for the Artik cloud-based computing platform just last week although at the time it wasn’t explicitly known what it was for. The Artik platform is comprised of just about everything any company should need to create IoT devices for the future, including the hardware itself, (the chips) as well as the software, drivers, development boards, tools, advanced security features and connectivity.
IoT devices can come in all shapes and sizes which is why Samsung has created three different sized chips, so they can better accommodate a wide set of varied products. The smallest module will be the Artik 1, aimed at providing companies with a system on chip for small low-power devices. It measures at just 12mm by 12mm and pairs Bluetooth/BLE technology with a nine axis sensor. The next up is Samsung’s Artik 5 chip featuring a 1GHz dual-core processor and onboard DRAM, which Samsung states is the perfect solution for IoT devices such as home hubs like Samsung’s recently acquired Smart Things products, high-end wearables, and drones.
Lastly in Samsung’s lineup for the new platform is the Artik 10, which is aimed at specifically providing solutions for IoT devices like home servers, media applications and industrial products. It features an eight core processor and supports encoding/decoding of full 1080p video, 5.1 audio, and it comes complete with 2GB of DRAM and 16GB of onboard flash memory for storage. It also has Bluetooth/BLE support as well as WiFi compatibility, and Zigbee wireless connectivity. Why create three different chips? As Samsung states, “Industry requirements for IoT devices vary in terms of battery life, computational horse power and form factor.” With three different chips all aimed at very different and specific sets of products and markets, they’re able to provide solutions for just about any type of customer looking to create IoT products.
