The Future Of... Dressing Rooms

July 6, 2009, 11:47am PDT | Length: 00:03:44
Need to update your business wardrobe, but don't have the time to scrutinize yourself in the fitting room mirror? Researchers at PARC are working on putting an end to dressing room indecision. ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das meets up with the brains behind the "responsive mirror" and tries the technology on for size.

Transcript

The Future Of... Dressing Rooms

Music

>> No matter what your style, we all need clothes. Each year, the U.S. retail apparel industry generates over $100 billion in revenue. Online shopping has transformed how we buy clothes. The way we try clothes, however, is the same today as it was 20 years ago. But in the future, dressing rooms may be more intelligent and help us shop smart.

Music At the Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC, Bo Begole leads a research team that's developing the responsive mirror, which provides shoppers with what you could call tech support.

>> In the physical world, we don't have the same amount of information that you get on the web. And so we're thinking about, well, how could we supplement a person's information needs in the physical retail shopping experience?

>> The researcher's answer solves a frequent problem.

>> It's a common situation. You browse around a store, find a few tops and start trying them on. But by the time you get to the last one, can you remember what the first one looked like?

>> With the responsive mirror, it records each instance of you trying on the shirts, and then replays that in an electronic display next to the mirror.

>> The responsive mirror will show you exactly how you looked in that first blouse. What's more, it will detect and match your current pose. So if you turn to the side, the image in the responsive mirror will also be a side view.

>> No smoke or even mirrors at work here. Cameras and equations do all the work.

>> There's an overhead camera that's looking down on the customer as they're standing in front of the mirror. And then as you rotate, it tracks that motion. Then with each five degrees of rotation, the front camera takes an image and records that. And then later, when the person comes in with another outfit on, then again, it's detecting their rotation in front of the mirror. And it matches images from the previous fitting.

>> Using algorithms, the technology could also recognize types of clothing and suggest alternatives that may be better suited to you.

>> It can draw people into a retail store because this is a store that's innovating and providing information that shoppers would find useful.

>> Shoppers may also be less likely to return clothes knowing they bought the item with the best fit and feel. If saving time or getting a second opinion doesn't grab you, perhaps the nation's current online fascination will.

>> The big vision part of it goes beyond just the experience in the fitting room. It's also the idea of recording those images and providing those to something like your social network site so that you could talk about your fashion choices with friends and peers.

>> The future dressing room, it could help you find the perfect fit.

>> For Zidi phonetic Net, I'm Sumi phonetic Daas phonetic.

Music

==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====

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Talkback Most Recent of 11 Talkback(s)

  • Cameras...Dressing Room...
    I can hear the complaints now...who is behind the cameras, are they recording me while I am changings, blah blah blah.

    We can't even have airport x-rays that show to much of a body image...how are we going to have a camera recording your every move undressing.

    There is going to have to be an on/off switch for something like this to take off ... otherwise I doubt many will strip down in front of a camera anytime soon.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Spin1197
    21st Jul 2009
  • I agree
    Imagine some disgruntled or perverse employee linking the camera to screens around a shopping centre or secretly jacking off in an office or worse still uploading to U-tube for a laugh.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    I Hate Malware
    29th Jul 2009
  • RE: The future of... Dressing rooms
    Well, the obvious question is SECURITY. To try things on you have to strip off outer cloths. Will people want to be photographed (or take the possibility they are being photographed) in their underware?

    I am of the opinion that this will NOT be palatable to most shoppers. Too much chance (on the surface at least) for unscrupulous people to use this wrongly.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    RobertbEZ
    22nd Jul 2009
  • RE: The future of... Dressing rooms
    Obviously people would only accept this if the active mirror were in a separate common area, not in the private changing cubicle. With that in mind, it's a pretty good idea.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Dunkleosteus
    23rd Jul 2009
  • Not on Your Life
    Are these people in PARC insane?! No one is going near a public dressing room that is recording them. And the ideas about social networking sites, yeah, that's right, videos of people changing would be all over the Internet and there would be plenty of commentary all right. Even as presented in the video, there was ZERO value being added by the "responsive mirror". This is really one of the most moronic ideas I have ever heard of!
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Bob C User
    23rd Jul 2009
  • ZDNet Gravatar
    King II
    24th Jul 2009
  • RE: The future of... Dressing rooms
    I just don't understand this video. What's the big deal of showing a jerky picture of you turning? Can't a mirror do that?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    guptasingh
    28th Jul 2009
  • Comparisons and transferability.
    You can compare what you were wearing previously and more easily recognize what looks better. The images are potentially stored locally and optionally savable to an external medium.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    aeriform
    28th Jul 2009
  • Obviously they do no advertise well
    or they have not implemented even a part of their idea. I though I can browse many looks. But in the video, only ONE different look is shown in the mirror. That does look absurd.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    catsophie
    29th Jul 2009
  • Don't damp ur brain
    Most of the shopper use dressing room to check
    that if the cloth or wear is fit to his/her
    size or not. So, in this case this technology
    is not worthy...

    And ur eye is enough to choose our favourite
    color and design. We love to take our friend
    and family member in the shopping event for
    choosing. It's good social enjoyment. This
    technology will move us to walk alone; habitat
    us to live with dead computer.
    habitat
    And the time of economic crisis, this will
    increase the operative cost of the wear shops
    as well as the price of product. This tech is
    waste of time, social time and money...loll
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Ali Ponjait
    30th Jul 2009
  • RE: The future of... Dressing rooms
    My concern, Who's to say the employees won't use the video camera to view women or men taking off their blouse, pants etc... sexual viewing?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    seaoftunes
    26th Oct 2009

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