WASHINGTON – Face it, there’s a certain sadness and loneliness in a person contorting himself in front of a bathroom mirror, trying to snap a flattering photograph to share with others on social media.
Now, some creative inventors have come up with what seems to be a far more self- respecting way to take a picture of yourself when you are the only one in the room.
The SELFIE mirror, or “Self Enhancing Live Feed Image Engine,” uses facial recognition software powered by a Mac mini computer, to snap a photo of the person standing in front of it, when the user is smiling appealingly.
And since it’s inevitable, the selfie is automatically posted to Twitter.
Images can be deceiving
When visitors see the SELFIE, it looks like a typical mirror – in fact, it was a modified IKEA medicine cabinet, which happened to be the right size, according to Gizmag.
To trigger the camera, the user has to stand on a vinyl marker, placed in the just the right position on the floor.
If the person standing on the marker and pointing toward the SELFIE holds the smile long enough, the facial recognition software determines that the user is ready to be photographed.
Zach Saale with iStrategyLabs tells Gizmag, “It takes roughly one-and-a-half seconds for a smile to be recognized, as we found any less that that would create false positives.”
Two rows of LEDs that are hidden behind the two-way mirror illuminate, framing the user.
A brief countdown simulates a flash, and a small beep indicates a photo has been taken.
The photo is then posted to Twitter, with the user’s watermark or logo.
The SELFIE is not available for sale now, but the company’s website invites interested people to contact them.
See the SELFIE mirror in action:
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