"A home completed with a single QR code."
On the morning of the 24th, when entering the wooden modular dwellings showroom of Space Manufacturing Studio in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, this phrase appeared on a large screen. Instead of buying and installing appliances and Internet of Things (IoT) devices one by one after building a house, it means putting in advance an air conditioner, refrigerator, heat pump boiler, home cam, door cam, and smart lighting when making the dwellings at the factory. Residents can start using the artificial intelligence (AI) home immediately by logging in with a Samsung account or scanning a QR code.
Samsung Electronics unveiled the "Samsung AI Modular Home" showroom, created in collaboration with Space Manufacturing Studio, a corporations specializing in wooden modular dwellings. The showroom consists of two sites: one around 100 pyeong (about 330㎡) and one around 20 pyeong (about 66㎡). The two-story, 100-pyeong showroom was close to a luxury single-family dwelling. Samsung Electronics' premium appliances and SmartThings-connected devices were placed throughout the spacious kitchen, living room, bedroom, dressing room, and bathrooms. In contrast, the 20-pyeong showroom was configured to resemble a typical small single-family dwelling. It is a space to show realistic sizes and price ranges that actual buyers might choose.
Lee Sin-young, group leader of the New Biz Team in the DA (appliance) division at Samsung Electronics, said, "Samsung AI Home is a structure in which various appliances inside dwellings are organically connected through SmartThings," and added, "In modular dwellings, consumers can equip the AI appliances and home IoT products they choose from the design stage." Lee also said, "Samsung Electronics aims to expand AI home solutions beyond single-family dwellings to apartments, buildings, offices, accommodations, cultural spaces, and public dwellings."
◇ "Installed at the factory"… lowering the barrier to entry for AI homes
At the Space Manufacturing Studio's Hwaseong factory, visited before touring the showroom, wooden dwelling walls and structures were being produced in standardized forms through automated equipment. Unlike the method of erecting rebar and pouring concrete on-site, more than 80% of the dwellings are first manufactured at the factory, then transported to the site for assembly and installation. Inside the factory, lumber was cut to set specifications, and walls and structures were produced with consistent quality.
Park Jeong-jin, CEO of Space Manufacturing Studio, cited shortened construction periods, uniform quality, reduced waste, and reusability as advantages of modular dwellings. Park said, "With fewer skilled workers and rising construction costs, modular dwellings are becoming the only countermeasure," adding, "Because work is done with equipment at the factory, we can deliver uniform construction quality as in manufacturing."
Samsung Electronics took note of this production method. To implement a smart home in an existing apartment or single-family dwelling, residents must buy and connect appliances, lighting, sensors, door locks, and home cams after moving in. If wire locations, cabinets, or outlet positions don't match, additional work is needed. By contrast, modular dwellings can determine from the design stage which appliances and sensors go in which spaces. Because wall panels, wiring, cabinets, and appliance standards can be matched together, it is advantageous for implementing an "AI home."
In the 20-pyeong showroom, visitors could see how these AI home functions work in practice. Pressing a small automation button on the living room wall activated the "return home mode," turning on the lights and starting cooling. When "away mode" was executed, the lights turned off and several appliances stopped. When a smoke detection scenario was assumed, the lights changed to red, the air purifier and air conditioner ran on strong airflow, and the kitchen hood turned on. These functions can also be set up directly as routines in the SmartThings app.
A Samsung Electronics official said, "When trying to add IoT to an existing house, in many cases you have to worry about wiring or wall work first," and explained, "With modular dwellings, you can match spaces and device placement from the beginning, so implementing an AI home is much easier."
◇ Security, fires, heating costs… targeting the "inconveniences" of single-family dwellings
Samsung Electronics emphasized that its solutions can address the inconveniences of single-family dwelling residents. Unlike apartments, single-family dwellings have no security staff and have many windows, yards, and entrances facing outside. Security anxiety, concerns about fire and leaks, the burden of heating and cooling costs, and preparing to receive guests are cited as typical worries.
In the showroom, the AI door cam installed at the entrance was demonstrated detecting the movement of unfamiliar people and the arrival of parcels. Users can check video outside the door on their smartphones and request S-1 dispatch service if necessary. Inside the house, a home cam and a robot vacuum's camera cover blind spots. When wanting to check where a pet is, it is also possible to move the robot vacuum to look around the house.
SmartThings can also respond to fires and leaks. When a smoke sensor detects an abnormal situation, a smartphone alert appears, and lighting and appliances simultaneously send danger signals. A leak sensor indicates in which space water has been detected. Because wooden dwellings are structurally more vulnerable to leaks, such sensor-integration functions were presented as key features of the single-family modular home.
Reducing heating and cooling costs is also expected. According to Samsung Electronics, new single-family dwellings consume 1.7 times more energy than new apartments and have higher overall energy consumption per unit area. In particular, in suburban areas without city gas, the high share of kerosene boilers increases the burden of heating costs.
Samsung Electronics proposed SmartThings' "AI saving mode," automatic blinds, away mode, and the EHS heat pump boiler as solutions. AI saving mode analyzes usage patterns to optimize appliance operation, and automatic blinds detect sunlight to reduce indoor temperature rises in summer and secure insolation in winter. The company said that applying the EHS heat pump boiler can cut heating costs by about 53% compared with conventional oil boilers and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 60%.
◇ 5 million won per pyeong dwellings rise to about 6 million won with AI options
Price accessibility is also a strength. Space Manufacturing Studio's basic wooden modular dwellings cost around 5 million won per pyeong. Even if Samsung Electronics' AI appliances and SmartThings-based premium options are added, the price rises only to about 6 million won per pyeong. Based on a 30-pyeong dwelling, the basic construction cost is about 150 million won, and the price with AI home options is around 180 million won.
However, the actual price varies depending on dwelling size, appliance grade, furniture and finishes, whether to choose a heat pump boiler, and various IoT sensors. Regarding the price of the appliance package for the 30-pyeong type, a Samsung Electronics official explained, "We are considering configurations in the 5 million–6 million won range for basic and the 12 million–15 million won range for premium."
About 100 million won worth of Samsung Electronics' premium appliances and IoT devices went into the 100-pyeong showroom. Rather than being a truly mass-market product, this space had a strong high-end exhibition character of "showing what is possible to this extent."
Although Samsung Electronics has fully entered the "Samsung AI Modular Home" market, short-term sales are not expected to be large. This is because the scale of modular dwellings that Space Manufacturing Studio can currently supply to the market is only about 40 units per month (based on one 8-hour shift).
Lee said, "Samsung Electronics aims to expand AI home solutions from modular dwellings to general dwellings, apartments, and various buildings," adding, "Because there have not been many spaces where consumers could experience or actually use AI homes, we chose modular dwellings first, which can be equipped quickly."
SmartThings, the core of "Samsung AI Modular Home," supports connections with more than 370 partner companies and more than 4,700 models. It is a structure that can expect not only appliance revenue going into a single modular dwelling, but also revenue related to additional devices and services after residents move in.
◇ LG Electronics sells "homes," Samsung Electronics sells "AI homes"
LG Electronics entered the modular dwellings market ahead of Samsung Electronics by launching the "LG Smart Cottage" in 2024. It directly supplies small modular dwellings that combine AI appliances, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and IoT devices. As a latecomer, Samsung Electronics chose a different approach. Instead of building dwellings directly or selling its own branded modular dwellings, it supplies AI appliances and SmartThings-based solutions to modular dwelling companies like Space Manufacturing Studio, as well as to architects and construction companies.
If LG Electronics' model increases unit profitability by selling complete dwellings, Samsung Electronics has put weight on scalability by partnering with multiple dwelling and construction businesses to broaden supply channels. If Samsung Electronics were to directly enter the modular dwellings business, it could end up competing with architects and modular makers. In that case, supplying built-in appliances and AI home solutions to multiple construction businesses would face constraints. Samsung Electronics maintained its identity as an appliance company and approached the market with business-to-business and business-to-consumer-linked transaction models that put SmartThings-based AI homes into various spaces such as single- and multi-family dwellings, accommodations, training centers, and offices.
This difference in business models also showed up in prices. The single-story 8-pyeong (27㎡) model of LG Smart Cottage is priced at 100 million won, and the 16-pyeong (54㎡) model is around 180 million won. If options are added, even the 8-pyeong model exceeds 200 million won. The 20-pyeong (66㎡) model of the Samsung Electronics–Space Manufacturing Studio collaboration is in the high-100 million won range.
An official in the electronics industry said, "The collaboration model of Samsung Electronics and Space Manufacturing Studio adds Samsung Electronics' appliances and IoT options to a base dwelling price," and added, "Because the actual burden varies greatly depending on land, permits, design, finishes, appliance grades, HVAC equipment, and whether solar is applied, it is difficult to compare the two companies' model prices directly."