Smart mirror concept could change clothes shopping forever

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 - 12:41 by Sarah Collinson

Online shopping giant, Amazon, has just patented the idea of combining mixed reality technology and a traditional mirror in a way that will thrill fashion-lovers.

Tech Radar reports that the ‘smart mirror’ will be able to dress people who stand in front of it in virtual garments. This will make it much easier to buy items which fit correctly via safe shopping online, rather than having to make a guess as to whether or not a particular product is going to look good when it is delivered.

The concept of a digital fitting room is not new, but the fact that Amazon has become involved in this marketplace could make a big difference in terms of how quickly technology is made available to a mainstream audience.

The ‘smart mirror’ system described in the patent would require multiple cameras to scan and track the user’s position, dimensions and movements, as well as projectors to properly overlay the represented clothing on their reflection. Because of this, it is unlikely to be a cheap solution, but will inevitably be linked to the retailer’s existing services for safe shopping online.

What makes this patent even more interesting is that it will also be able to provide style-conscious consumers with a view of what their latest purchase will look like in a variety of settings, accounting for the low lights of a night club or the bright sunshine of the beach, for example.

There are plenty of other potential applications of this technology outside of online shopping, so even if Amazon does not ultimately use it to create a commercially available ‘smart mirror,’ it could harness it in other ways or license it to third parties. It might even make it into real world fashion outlets, where costly gimmicks are more likely to take off.