Mirror takes a selfie and sends it to your phone

France-based Pixglass has created a camera-enabled mirror that digitally captures whatever is in front of it.

Trying on clothes in the changing rooms always gives a better idea of whether an item is a good fit, but sourcing advice from friends isn’t easy if they’re not there to see it in person. While we’ve already seen Amsterdam’s Karl Lagerfeld Store has already used changing room tablets to enable shoppers to snap their new look and share it with friends, France-based Pixglass now wants to make the process easier, with a camera-enabled mirror that digitally captures whatever is in front of it.

The system uses a one-way sheet of glass with a mirror on one side, concealing the camera on the other side. Users can connect their mobile device to the mirror using wifi and control it with the Pixglass app. The camera is capable of taking photos, panoramas, photo bursts and video in a variety of aspect ratios chosen by the user. When they’ve finished, the photos and videos are saved to their device.

Rather than relying on someone else to take a photo or relying on awkward selfie angles, Pixglass replicates pretty much exactly what’s reflected in the mirror. This means the mirror acts as a kind of photo ‘preview’, giving users more control over the final image. The mirror could be installed in changing rooms, enabling shoppers to instantly take a photo of their outfit and share it with friends, or also at event functions, allowing groups to take a photo without leaving anyone out.

Watch the video below (in French) to find out more about Pixglass:

Obviously, there are privacy concerns involved with the system, most notably how the photos and video are stored once they’ve been captured. It remains to be seen how Pixglass will overcome these issues, but the technology is currently being trialled in various locations around Paris. Are there other ways to integrate technology into otherwise ‘dumb’ objects?