Samsung is utilizing Galaxy smartwatches to protect employees from health issues related to heat.

      Samsung is rolling out a new feature for its Galaxy Watches aimed at assisting workers who utilize its wearables, following a recent replacement of a previous feature. While standard smartwatches typically alert users if they've been seated for too long, the new Galaxy Watches will provide warnings about the risk of heat stress.

      The company has enhanced its Heat Stress Management System, developed in collaboration with South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor. This upgraded system employs LTE Galaxy Watches along with Samsung’s SmartThings Pro platform to keep track of outdoor workers during extreme summer temperatures.

      This system integrates environmental factors—like workplace temperature and humidity—with biometric data from the watch, including heart rate and levels of physical activity. It's designed to forecast when heat conditions may become hazardous for individual workers, rather than relying on a generalized temperature for all. Currently, it is in operation at a construction site for a new semiconductor production facility at Samsung’s Pyeongtaek campus.

      The watch also informs managers when workers require a break.

      The system assesses the perceived temperature at the worksite in real time. When the conditions exceed government-set heat thresholds, alerts are generated on a manager's dashboard. Samsung identifies three critical levels: a heat advisory at a perceived temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, a heat warning at 35 degrees, and a serious warning at 38 degrees, which align with South Korean government recommendations to pause work during extreme heat.

      Managers can send heat advisories and rest suggestions directly to the Galaxy Watches worn by workers. This functionality provides a more practical use for the watch beyond merely showing the weather forecast. It facilitates an essential connection between environmental monitoring, health data, and the ability for a supervisor to advise a worker to take a break before conditions worsen.

      The system focuses on individual workers rather than just overall weather conditions.

      Samsung has also improved the prediction algorithm in collaboration with researchers from Incheon National University. This software evaluates a worker's height, weight, age, gender, heart-rate patterns, and work environment to estimate core body temperature in real time. It assigns a risk level and issues alerts as necessary.

      Additionally, Samsung collaborated with the Data Science Research Institute at Samsung Medical Center to compare the algorithm’s predictions with actual body responses under heat stress. This tailored approach is significant because individuals can respond very differently to the same temperature. Factors such as age, fitness, workload, pre-existing health conditions, clothing, and hydration influence how quickly a person may become vulnerable.

      However, privacy concerns remain.

      Currently, this is a B2B workplace system rather than a consumer feature that can simply be downloaded onto Galaxy Watches. It also stores personal and biometric data within a cloud-based dashboard managed by employers. Samsung states that SmartThings Pro has attained ISO 27001 information security certification, but wider implementation will require clear guidelines regarding worker consent, data access and retention, and how employers can utilize health information. While a Galaxy Watch cannot cool a construction site or substitute for proper shade, water, breaks, and safe working conditions, it serves as a tool for managers to identify when heat may be becoming excessive for an individual worker.