Samsung Electronics at present introduced it has expanded its dedication to serving to defend the world’s oceans in collaboration with like-minded companions. Constructing upon its efforts to handle the pervasive problem of plastic waste by reworking discarded fishing nets right into a high-quality recycled materials utilized in Galaxy gadgets, Samsung is taking a big step ahead with its newest venture to revive the broken marine ecosystems. The corporate is saying help for a brand new initiative to equip native communities and consultants on the entrance traces of coral reef restoration with cell expertise, bringing the challenges confronted by this largely hidden ecosystem into focus.
Delivering Significant Progress for the World’s Oceans
Samsung is devoted to defending the setting for future generations, a dedication that drives the corporate’s innovation and constructive affect for each individuals and the planet. This dedication has led Samsung to give attention to enhancing ocean well being with its modern expertise.
Beginning with the Galaxy S22 collection in 2022, Samsung included recycled discarded fishing nets — often known as ghost nets — in Galaxy gadgets. Since then, Samsung has continued to scale its use of this recycled materials throughout all Galaxy cell merchandise,1 aiming to mitigate the harm that ocean-bound plastic2 inflicts on fragile marine ecosystems.3
Now, Samsung is taking these actions one step additional by becoming a member of forces the U.S.-based nonprofit group Seatrees and the College of California San Diego to discover new, modern options for reef restoration. The Galaxy digital camera expertise supplied to native coral reef restoration activists and researchers in coastal communities will support their efforts to revive reefs impacted by local weather change and air pollution via improved monitoring of restoration success.
“We initiated our dedication to the world’s oceans after we reworked discarded fishing nets into key elements of the Galaxy S22 collection, which up to now, has included greater than 150 tonnes of discarded fishing nets into key elements of Galaxy gadgets,” stated Stephanie Choi, EVP & Head of Advertising of Cell eXperience Enterprise at Samsung Electronics. “This yr, we’re furthering our dedication to the oceans by creating purposeful expertise that helps defend and restore broken marine ecosystems around the globe.”
Collectively, with Seatrees, Samsung is giving new objective to Galaxy expertise to additional modern options that enhance the well being of the world’s oceans. The corporate is supporting non-profits and area people members working in Fiji, Indonesia and the US with Galaxy expertise to assist restore coastal ecosystems. By leveraging cell expertise, these organizations goal to democratize and to create a extra environment friendly course of for coral restoration in reefs broken by local weather change, overfishing and ocean air pollution, reminiscent of discarded fishing nets.
An Progressive Method to Reef Monitoring and Restoration
Regardless of overlaying lower than 1 % of the ocean ground, coral reefs help roughly 25 % of all marine life, making them one in every of Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystems.4 Thousands and thousands of individuals around the globe additionally depend on reefs as a supply of meals, revenue and coastal safety. On the present tempo of decline, reefs are vulnerable to disappearing by 2050.5 To help the fast improvement of coral reef stewardship initiatives globally, this initiative will present superior monitoring expertise that leverages cell gadgets as a readily-accessible expertise platform.
Whereas efforts to revive coral reefs have existed for many years, researchers are in search of new methods to enhance this course of. Scientists from UC San Diego’s Scripps Establishment of Oceanography and native communities use photogrammetry6 to gather quite a lot of knowledge — together with images of coral — to investigate the well being and progress of reefs. This enables them to then develop 3D fashions of the reef, serving to researchers establish applicable interventions that mitigate the consequences of local weather change on the corals.
▲ 3D mannequin of coral reefs from photographs taken by Galaxy
Correct knowledge is crucial to researchers gaining a deeper understanding of how coral restoration efforts are affecting the reefs, and due to this fact assist defend a higher variety of reefs around the globe. Nonetheless, capturing correct and vivid photographs of coral reefs is just not a easy process. Photos can endure from movement blur as divers swim over reefs capturing hundreds of images, resulting in much less correct knowledge. Equally, water absorbs heat colours like reds and oranges, often known as lengthy wavelength gentle, distorting the accuracy of the captured photographs and leading to photographs which can be darker and bluer than they seem to the bare eye.
Realizing that an correct underwater digital camera is essential to bettering coral restoration efforts globally, Samsung collaborated to beat these challenges by advancing Galaxy expertise as a purposeful instrument for coral restoration. Samsung developed a custom-made digital camera mode, referred to as Ocean Mode,7 made completely for this partnership. Ocean Mode optimizes the native Galaxy digital camera to make sure environment friendly and high-quality picture seize of coral reefs whereas underwater. It reduces movement blur and optimizes the digital camera’s white stability to reinforce underwater content material seize, guaranteeing correct photographs are despatched to researchers. This, in flip, improves coral restoration efforts via improved evaluation of restoration success.
“Design and implementation of coral reef restoration have to be knowledgeable by dependable details about what works and what doesn’t,” stated Dr. Stuart Sandin, Marine Ecologist at Scripps Establishment of Oceanography and Director of the Heart for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. “Cell applied sciences provide an thrilling alternative to broaden entry to this info.”
“By constructing on expertise that’s each modern and accessible, this collaboration has the potential to assist bridge limitations and simplify the method for analysis and restoration, enabling more practical science-based stewardship at scale,” added Dr Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, Human-Centered Technologist and Director for UC San Diego’s Heart for Well being Design.
▲ Images captured with Galaxy S24 Extremely smartphones outfitted with Ocean Mode8
“This partnership represents a collective effort of individuals and organizations coming collectively to rebuild hope by restoring ocean ecosystems,” stated Michael Stewart, Co-Founder and Director of Seatrees. “By collaborating with Samsung and UC San Diego, we will share their modern instruments to assist native communities effectively restore reefs at scale.”
All through 2024, Samsung supported coral restoration initiatives in areas which have suffered coral reef declines, together with Bali, Indonesia; Viti Levu Island, Fiji; and Florida, USA and over 11,000 coral fragments having already been planted at these venture websites. Dedicated to utilizing expertise for good, Samsung and its collaborators are united round a shared purpose of restoring marine ecosystems and preserving the world’s oceans for future generations. Grounded within the spirit of open collaboration and by leveraging Samsung’s expansive scale, the organizations will proceed to broaden the initiative to extra areas within the months forward.
For extra details about Samsung’s broader sustainability efforts, please go to our Sustainability Web site.
About Seatrees
Seatrees restores and protects coastal ecosystems around the globe to reverse local weather change, improve biodiversity, and help native communities. Seatrees makes use of a science-based method to regenerate coral reefs, kelp forests, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and coastal watersheds. Seatrees initiatives help area people restoration efforts and supply tangible methods for people and types to create a extra resilient planet for future generations.
1 Recycled supplies will be present in all Galaxy gadgets launched in and after 2022.
2 Ocean-bound plastic is deserted plastic waste of all sizes (micro-plastics, mezzo-plastics and macro-plastics) which can be positioned inside 50km of shores in communities or areas.
3 The quantity of ocean-bound plastic used is totally different for every system. Please go to Samsung Sustainability web site for extra info.
4 Smithsonian Museum of Pure Historical past
5 United Nations Setting Program
6 Photogrammetry is the science of acquiring dependable details about bodily objects and the setting via the method of recording, measuring and decoding photographic photographs
7 Ocean Mode is completely supported for this venture and isn’t accessible in merchandise for common customers.
8 Galaxy S24 Extremely used underwater had been positioned in a water-proof underwater housing. Galaxy smartphones usually are not designed to be waterproof in opposition to seawater.
