A Magic Mirror to Help You Shop With Ease

Squeezing into a series of fitting rooms to try one outfit after the other under harsh bright lights only to come away empty handed and more than a little dispirited, may come to an end with a "magic mirror", which lets buyers try them on virtually.

A shopping centre is now promising to take the stress out of searching for the perfect clothes with the help of the 'magic mirror'.

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Unlike similar devices elsewhere, this mirror lets prospective buyers sample outfits from multiple retailers all in one place, saving time and hassle traipsing between stores.

Using 3D technology, the mirror superimposes a range of dresses, skirts and tops over a live picture of a shopper's body as they move in front of a camera perched on top of a screen.

It uses movement sensors and augmented reality technology similar to that of an Xbox games console to judge their size and distance from the camera.

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The size and outfit, from shops such as Karen Millen and Coast, can be swapped at the wave of a hand until the best match is found, leaving the customer prepared to head straight to the shop and pick it up.

The virtual changing room will go on display at Manchester's Trafford Centre tomorrow.

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"It's a great way to save time and allows you to scan through a large number of outfits very quickly. It's great fun with a group of girls too," the Daily Mail quoted Kelly Da Silva Fernandes, a marketing manager who tried the device as saying.

"I took a 58-inch plasma screen TV and mounted a depth-sensing camera on top.

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"It has worked really well, so far, with women's clothing so we are now developing the software for menswear and children," she said.

The magic mirror has been developed by Adam Vahed, managing director of Apache Solutions.

"This is our secret weapon against the rise of internet shopping, you just can't get this type of theatre and experience online," Caroline Aikman, marketing manager for the Trafford Centre, said.

"We want to put the excitement back into shopping," Aikman added.

Source-ANI