Old phone as a smart home sensor… Galaxy Upcycling at Home

Samsung Electronics launched the Galaxy Upcycling at Home beta service announced in January in Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Previous Galaxy devices can be used as sensors for smart homes.

More than 50 million tons of electronic waste are disposed of annually. For this reason, there is a movement like the disappearance of the charger on the iPhone and Galaxy. It is Galaxy Upcycling At Home that uses old smartphones for other purposes in order to reduce the handling of such electronic products.

This program aims to use this built-in sensor for smart homes, taking into account that recent smartphones are a bunch of various sensors. As an example of use, it can be used as a sound and light sensor. AI is used to accurately detect target sounds among environmental sounds, such as baby crying, dog barking, and knocking, and send a notification to the user’s smartphone. In addition, when the indoor lighting is below the preset level, it is possible to turn on the TV and the lighting through SmartThings, the IoT platform of Samsung Electronics.

Of course, if you use an old terminal as a sensor, you may be concerned about the battery, but Galaxy Upcycling At Home also has a battery optimization solution. Currently available terminals are all Galaxy S, Note, and Z series released in 2018 with an operating system of Android 9 or higher. It is still a relatively new terminal, but it is said to support more devices in the future. Related information can be found here.