Amazon Smart Mirror Patent Details Virtual Clothing And Scenes
Amazon has patented a smart mirror that uses virtual clothing and mirrors to help consumers decide what to buy. This isn't the first time we've seen the idea of a smart mirror for modern shopping; it is, however, a bit unique from the others. The mirror doesn't just show virtual clothing overlaid onto the potential buyer's body — it also puts virtual scenes in the background, helping the customer visualize what they would look like on, for example, the beach.
A patent detailing the "Blended Reality Systems and Methods" was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on January 2. In it, the patent describes what is essentially a smart mirror that combines "images reflected by a mirror with images transmitted from a screen behind the mirror." That makes this as much of a cameras-and-display system as it does a large fitting room mirror.
According to the patent, this mirror would involve a variety of projectors in addition to the mirror surface, hidden display, and camera. The patent suggests there are multiple potential uses for a system like this, though the most obvious one seems to involve retail. Online clothes shopping, while convenient, is still a very uncertain process due to trouble guessing how an outfit will look in person.
With a mirror like this, someone could preview what the outfit would look like on their own body, then see what it looks like in their intended environment. Maybe that dress looks cute on a Web page, for example, but it doesn't strike your fancy when viewed on your reflected self in a virtual dinner party setting.
This won't be a cheap system, though, at least based on the tech described in the patent. Amazon explains (in the document) that cameras and face-tracking technology would be used to ensure the presented image is well blended regardless of which angle the customer is viewing it from.
As with any patent, it is possible we'll never see a product like this come to market; however, Amazon's recent Body Labs acquisition indicates that the company is serious about this kind of tech.
SOURCE: GeekWire