With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), smart technologies have entered many aspects of our lives, particularly in the form of home appliances that streamline our daily routines. Although robot vacuums already adopted AI among cleaning appliances, traditional stick-type vacuum cleaners have still room for intelligent innovation, considering being the cleaning solution that most people are familiar with.
Recognizing this white space, Samsung recently introduced Bespoke Jet
AI, the world’s first UL-verified AI cordless stick vacuum cleaner.1 This pioneering innovation expands the convenience of AI-based cleaning technology to more consumers.
Samsung Newsroom sat down with Shin Kim, Vice President and Head of VC R&D at Samsung Electronics, and R&D team members Jaeyoon Jeong and Thomas Choi to learn more about the development of Bespoke Jet AI as well as Samsung’s belief in the transformative potential of AI in enhancing user convenience.
▲ (From left to right) Thomas Choi, Shin Kim and Jaeyoon Jeong of the Digital Appliances Business, Samsung Electronics
Q: What was behind the decision to add AI functionality to a cordless vacuum cleaner?
Shin Kim: When developing Bespoke Jet AI, we were set on addressing two of the most common pain points for consumers within the cordless stick vacuum market. First, customers wish they could use their cordless vacuums for longer and second, they desire a cordless vacuum capable of handling any surface type.
▲ Shin Kim, Vice President and Head of VC R&D, Digital Appliances, Samsung Electronics, explains how AI technologies were necessary to meet consumer needs.
During the development process, we realized that a hardware update alone would not be enough to address both concerns. Instead, we turned toward implementing AI technology into our product to accomplish these goals.
The resulting design for Bespoke Jet AI features not only hardware upgrades, such as the HexaJet Motor with improved efficiency but also software upgrades that allow the vacuum to operate intelligently according to its environment. And thus, Bespoke Jet AI was created.
▲ The Bespoke Jet AI recognizes and automatically adjusts to different surfaces.
Q: Samsung introduced Bespoke Jet AI as the world’s first UL-verified cordless stick vacuum cleaner. What does this certification mean, and what is the significance of it?
Jaeyoon Jeong: The UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Solutions is a widely recognized, independent safety science organization that conducts product safety testing and then issues certifications accordingly. UL’s certification process employs rigorous screening procedures to verify that the implemented AI technology is legitimate and provides consumers with the promised benefits. We are very happy to have received UL verification for Bespoke Jet AI.
▲ Jaeyoon Jeong describes the UL verification process for the vacuum cleaner’s AI features.
Q: Considering Bespoke Jet AI is the first UL-verified cordless stick vacuum cleaner, there must have been challenges during its development. What was the biggest obstacle, and how did you overcome it?
Thomas Choi: From an algorithm development perspective, the biggest challenge we faced when developing the AI mode for Bespoke Jet AI was not the product specifications. Rather, the biggest obstacle was making sure that consumers felt the AI mode was performing as expected. To accomplish this, we had to ensure that the AI mode was properly recognizing cleaning surfaces and adjusting itself accordingly.
Kim: Part of overcoming this challenge was to gather extensive data on diverse floor types and cleaning environments. We tested a wide variety of commercially available carpet and rug materials that we consider the standard and all available floor-type samples to assess if the AI mode could reliably and accurately identify them.
We also needed to properly categorize the data into certain types of cleaning environments before combining the accumulated data with SVM methods2 so that AI mode could properly distinguish different cleaning environments.3
▲ The Bespoke Jet AI seamlessly transitions from carpet to hard floor
Q: Across different countries, what are the market differences that affect how Bespoke Jet AI is received by consumers? Are there any design aspects that have been modified for the global market?
Kim: We made major changes to the main brush type for the global launch of Bespoke Jet AI. While the Korean model features a soft roller main brush, we implemented a carpet-specific multi-brush, the Active Dual Brush, for the global version.4
▲ The global version of the Bespoke Jet AI features the Active Dual Brush, optimized for cleaning carpets.
The reason for this modification was the difference in household floors across the world. According to our market research, a low percentage of homes in Korea have carpets and rugs. On the other hand, about 24% of homes in the global market have carpets and rugs, particularly in living rooms and bedrooms. To cater to this difference, we designed the global version of Bespoke Jet AI with the Active Dual Brush as the default brush type since its stiff nylon and rubber bristles can more effectively remove dust5 embedded in carpets and rug flooring.
Q: What other improvements does Bespoke Jet AI feature compared to similar Bespoke Jet models?
Jeong & Choi: The major improvements that we would like to highlight are the vacuum’s suction and runtime performance.
Bespoke Jet AI features our most powerful suction6 and the longest battery life of our vacuums to date, providing up to 280W of suction power7 with a runtime of up to 100 minutes when fully charged.8 Compared to the previous model, that’s a 27% improvement in suction power.9
And you can imagine, of course, through AI cleaning mode, it’s possible to deliver the same performance as Mid mode while saving 14% battery power.10
▲ Thomas Choi stressed that ease-of-use, rather than technology for technology’s sake, was paramount in the Bespoke Jet AI development process.
Q: More broadly speaking, how does the launch of Bespoke Jet AI fit within Samsung’s vision for vacuum cleaners?
Kim: With the launch of Bespoke Jet AI, I feel that we have entered a new era. I am curious and excited to see what is next for us as we take on even greater challenges and turn what might have been impossible in the past into the achievements of tomorrow.
We will keep pursuing new consumer experience by applying the latest technologies such as AI and connectivity — of course not only in vacuum cleaner business, but also in other categories that Samsung Digital Appliances is dealing with. We hope that our customers are just as excited as we are about the innovations we are set to introduce in the near future.
Bespoke Jet AI is now available to consumers in select European markets,11 the U.S., Australia and Korea.
From TV sound to smartphone photo apps to vacuum cleaners, Samsung remains committed to providing consumers with powerful experiences leveraging the latest technologies, including AI.
1 In May 2023, it was the first cordless stick vacuum cleaner to receive AI certification from UL Solutions, a leading independent safety science organization.
2 Support Vector Machine, a technical method categorizing learned information.
3 The ability to identify different cleaning environments can be affected by environmental conditions.
4 The brushes and accessories provided will differ to suit the components of each model.
5 Refers to dust particles smaller than 5.5mm.
6 Compared to the stated suction power of cordless vacuum products in Samsung.
7 Based on testing by the Korea Testing Laboratory, in accordance with the IEC62885-4: 2020 standard. Measured at the inlet of the non-motorized tool when the dustbin is empty, using Jet Mode and a large capacity battery that is fully charged.
8 The stated run time is based on using a large capacity battery that is fully charged at the minimum power level with a non-motorized tool attached. Results may vary depending on actual usage.
9 Compared to 220W suction power of Bespoke Jet.
10 Based on internal testing when using the Active Dual Brush, in accordance with the global average ratio of the floor composition — wooden floor 76% and carpet 24%. It achieves the same cleaning performance as Mid mode with 2% or less difference in cleaning efficiency, in accordance with the IEC 62885-2 Cl. 5.1 and 5.3 standard. The battery consumption was measured based on the actual amount of power consumed while using the vacuum cleaner for 35 minutes from a fully charged state. The maneuverability is based on the actual measured value in accordance with the IEC 62885-2 CL. 7.3.9 standard. Results may vary depending on the actual usage conditions. The effect may differ when using the Slim LED Brush+.
11 Bespoke Jet AI will be available in the following EU markets: the U.K., Germany, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy.
“SΛMSUNG is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is currently the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, accounting for 70% of the group’s revenue in 2012.”
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