Smarter Mirrors and How They’re Made

New prototypes from the living room lab

Max Braun
OneZero

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A while ago I made a smart mirror for my bathroom. Maybe you’ve seen it. It started with a particular image in my mind. I wanted to build a piece of technology for the home that feels new and futuristic, yet simple and clean. The mirror blends in seamlessly with its environment and doesn’t aggressively compete for my attention. I wrote about how it works and the parts I used, source code included.

As seen on TV

It’s been two years, and I’ve been using this prototype every day. I’ve since added a couple of features to the software that the initial version didn’t have. For example, I connected it to my smart scale to show my weight trend, and it tells me the traffic to work each morning.

Over time I’ve been asking myself some questions about the hardware. What if it wasn’t so bulky? What if it fit into any room? What if it wasn’t square? What if it had a better display? What if it had a camera? Eventually, I put together a new prototype.

The new mirror among an assortment of totally common household objects

You’re looking at a small table mirror with a USB cable coming out the back and some familiar Roboto Thin on its surface. It can show me the weather…

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Max Braun
OneZero

Builder & inventor. Formerly Google, Everyday Robots, X. braun.design