It's safe to say that most men don't find pleasure in shopping for clothes. Many guys must be dragged kicking and screaming by their significant other when it's time to update their wardrobes. However, thanks to a group of graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, fashion conscious Pittsburgh men no longer have to be left to their own devices – or the mercy of a sales person who doesn't know their tastes – to choose that perfect ensemble. They can let a Smart.Mirror guide them through the sometimes harrowing process of shopping for clothes.
Smart.Mirror originally began as a student project at the Heinz College's School of Information Systems and Management and has evolved into a serious business venture. Smart.Mirror utilizes RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to help shoppers at Charles Spiegel, an upscale men's clothing store located in the east end of Pittsburgh, to create that perfect ensemble. Of course, this technology is not gender biased and is equally appropriate for female shoppers. However, when the team of students were in search of a beta test site for their technology, the folks at Charles Spiegel were more than happy to oblige.
RFID technology works in a similar manner to barcode scanners, where data from a product's barcode is captured with the scanner. However, the range in which information can be detected – measured in feet, not inches like the barcode scanner at your local grocery store – is much greater with RFID technology. A customer tries on clothes, stands in front of the Smart.Mirror prototype and receives suggested complementary pieces of clothing and accessories on a separate LCD touch screen. With funding already in place, the Smart.Mirror's creators hope to further develop the concept to include an inventory management system for a complete Smart.Mirror package.
Smart.Mirror's innovative use of RFID technology helps both the hesitant shopper and the business owner. By taking some of the drudgery out of shopping for the consumer and offering a system to both increase and manage sales for the business owner, Smart.Mirror is an invention that is an asset to everyone involved in the retail sales process. For more information on Smart.Mirror or Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, visit Heinz.cmu.edu.
