Arduino Microcontroller

When Google launched Shelfies (Shareable Selfies) for Gmail, the search giant was quite sure that “selfie” will be the word of the year. iStrategyLabs must think the same, since they created a magic mirror that takes pictures of you and posts them to Twitter automatically.

According to iStrategyLabs, SELFIE is now an acronym that stands for Self Enhancing Live Feed Image Engine, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that this company decided to name their mirror cabinet like that. The very definition of the word selfie includes references to social media, so it only makes sense that a mirror that helps you take selfies posts them to a social network automatically. Of course, some people might be concerned of what happens if pictures of them in indecent postures get posted on the Web, but fortunately the manufacturer has taken care of that aspect, as well.

The two-way mirror hides behind it a Mac mini, an Arduino microcontroller and a webcam. The latter is responsible with capturing the image, while the first two do the facial recognition part and share the image to Twitter.

CMO of iStrategyLabs DJ Saul explained how this product came to be: “We started thinking about how we could create a seamless and fun experience, where the trigger would be nothing more that a smile. The SELFIE mirror helps to demonstrate what’s possible by bringing together hardware, software and a great idea.”

In an interview with Gizmag, iStrategy Director of Ops, Zach Saale pointed out that “The Mac mini uses the OpenCV facial recognition library to detect smiles, and when one is detected a serial command is sent to the Arduino to initiate the countdown sequence. It takes roughly one and a half seconds for a smile to be recognized, as we found any less than that would create false-positives.”

That one and a half second needed before taking a picture can literally save reputations, as otherwise a lot of embarrassing photos would be shot and posted directly to social media. All in all, the product is great for whoever enjoys taking selfies, even though DJ Saul admitted that “I wouldn’t say we’re an advocate, but it’s certainly a fascinating social phenomenon.”

With such a name for their product, iStrategyLabs might as well welcome lawsuits, as there is already a Selfie Mirror in the shape of a photo booth developed by Smashbox Cosmetics that is equipped with a Canon DSLR and a DNP RX1 printer.