To bring to life the Samsung strategic role of “enabler” in people’s life, we looked at the current social situation in Italy: the disappearance of great handcrafting excellences which once brought Italy to greatness. Our idea aims to reconnect two generations, preserving the future of “Made in Italy” and fostering a new generation of Italian artisans. We created Samsung Maestros Academy, the first digital platform where young talents can learn the secrets of world-famous artisans through technology. After few months, a student together with her Maestro created Samsung Smart-Bike, the first safe-bicycle that protects the rider with its built-in smart-components, automatically activated through a Samsung smartphone and a dedicated app, optimized for Samsung Italian mobile market. A responsive “safety-environment” that detects ambient-conditions and protects the driver in real-time. This Smart-Bike was designed and engineered though Samsung smart-devices such as tablets, smartphones, enabling the co-creation from distance and preserving the empirical process of typical artisanal excellences. Samsung supported this two generations through the optimization of a mobile integration, pushing their idea even further. Smart-bike technology is at beta stage of development, improving even more in order to be ready for a public release, probably in cooperation with EXPO2015 scenarios.

Samsung Smart Bike aims to solve two main problems: bicycles being the most “unsafe” vehicles in Italy with the highest mortality index and, on top, young people refusing to use the appropriate safety-equipment, considering it's not fashionable or uncomfortable to use. Smart-Bike integrates within its comfortable minimalistic bicycle-frame, innovative smart-components (battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Arduino modules, 4 laser-projectors and a digital-camera) controlling them through a Samsung smartphone.

Nobody has ever integrated such an extensive combination of components within a tailored frame, generating a responsive “safety-environment” that detects ambient-conditions and protects the driver in real-time.

Laser beams, for example, automatically switch-on or off thanks to the brightness sensor of the paired smartphone, projecting a bike-lane whenever it’s useful. It makes drivers mind the safety-distance and let you be visible even around blind-corners, preceding you with outstanding light-traces.

The aluminum frame itself represents an innovative solution. Its curvy tubes are able to neutralize any dangerous vibration to the body, providing an extra-comfort even on discontinuous pavements of big cities. The mobile app turns innovative hardware in exciting features, such as the real-time video-stream on the Samsung smartphone for the rear-view camera or the main social features. A GPS-system, for example, tracks people’s routes and lets local authorities know which ones should be turned into real bike-lanes.

Advertising skills helped the team to keep focused on simple, newsworthy combinations of ideas and documented each stage for storytelling purposes.

Smart-Bike has been taken under consideration for further development according to EXPO2015 scenarios, providing even more social features and possibly an Alarm-system, able to detect potential accidents, alerting local authorities for immediate assistance.

Samsung decided to spend a part of its media budget in order to support this idea, allowing Maestro Pelizzoli and Maestros Academy’s best student to live a great story of success.

Samsung Smart Bike ended up on such an exciting result, that Discovery-Italia decided to feature the whole building process in one of the 12-episodes of the Maestros Academy TV-series, generating a great conversation on newspapers, social media and TV-programs. With more than 6 million TV-viewers, 4.5 million FB-users reached and 30 million media-impressions -in Italy alone- Samsung initiative became a big topic even in major universities, including “Università commerciale Luigi Bocconi”, “Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore” in Milan, IED, “Università degli studi di Roma Tor-Vergata” and even by Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. The student was asked to present her creation during the Milan Design Week event with the endorsement of EXPO2015 representative for Urban Mobility, famous journalists and design community. Her idea has been taken under consideration for applications according to EXPO scenarios, after being recognized as a big step-forward for urban-safety and sustainability.

On top, inspired many young talents to change their mind about handcrafting, starting to preserve and innovate a great Italian heritage. An outstanding example of the power of two generations working together, mixing up world-class artisanal techniques and innovative smart-environment.