In the second quarter of last year, Amazon had launched an innovative fashion accessory called the Echo Look. This Alexa-equipped camera could take pictures and videos of you and tell if your style was up to date with the help of machine learning. Now the Echo Look was limited to only giving you opinions about the clothes you own but what if you could do that with the entire catalogue of clothes you can find on Amazon. This way you can easily know which clothes fit and suit you even before buying them online. Amazon has recently patented a concept that does just the same.

This patent application from Amazon was recently approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and was unearthed by GeekWire. The patent in question conceptualises a blended-reality mirror. This blended reality mirror can show a person standing before it how he/she will look wearing a particular outfit. The mirror can also display various backgrounds depending on your choice of clothes. For example if you are trying out a casual beach wear it can show you wearing that particular item of clothing with a beach in the background. This will help you realise how your outfit either stands apart or blends with the surrounding.


So how will this blended reality mirror work? We have no idea and nor does Amazon. Since it’s a patent application they have just plainly stated that it would consist of cameras, projectors, a mirror, a display device and some other electronics. Normally patents are just ideas which someone registers officially with the authorities so that no other individual or firm can replicate it for profit. Normally patents are not put into production due to technological limitations but when it comes to Amazon we have some idea as to why we could see exactly this or some iteration of the blended mirror in reality owing to two reasons. Firstly, we have to take into consideration Amazon’s acquisition of a start-up called Body Labs whose major project consisted of creating 3D models of human bodies and dressing them up in virtual outfits. Since Amazon already has access to this technology it might be looking to refine this for public consumption.

Secondly, we have to note Amazon’s interest in the clothing sector as evident from launch of its clothing line and technical innovations like the Echo Look. By placing one or more of such blended reality mirrors in its physical stores in the US, it could help people try out and buy more clothes. The only question that now remains is that how Amazon will achieve this feat and if it does achieve this feat how it will be able to market it.

Source: #-Link-Snipped-# via Amazon patents mirror that puts you in virtual clothes and virtual locales