What is a Smart Mirror?

Smart is not an adjective anymore. Now, it is an anonym used for anything that improves functioning in the multi-device environment; by simplifying our daily tasks, speeding up the information flow, and allowing us to do incredible things in the twinkling of an eye. When every device such as phone, watch, TV, speaker, etc. have their smart versions, it doesn’t come as a surprise that mirrors have become smart too.

In this post, we are going to cover everything you need to know about the interesting device, smart mirror. But before this, let’s understand what is a smart mirror actually:

A smart mirror, also known as a magic mirror, is like any other mirror but comes with an inbuilt display behind the glass. It is a two-way mirror that displays anything you want on a mirror surface in the form of widgets, including calendar, current time, weather forecast, news, emails, social media updates, music and video streaming, etc. These mirrors come in all sizes and shapes, from small table mirrors to huge bathroom mirrors.

What Can A Smart Mirror Do for Us?

A smart mirror is called smart because of its ability to display anything you want on its surface. It can be easily customized to display all important information like social media feeds, news bulletins, etc. You can even add voice commands with Google’s Home Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa using which you can ask questions, set important reminders, or control other smart devices in the surroundings. You can do all this without moving a finger and that’s the main purpose of technology to make our lives easier and let us focus on what’s critical. All in all, there are various uses of smart mirrors: connecting to smart devices, seeing who is at your door, listening to music, or getting the ideal light for your makeup.

How Does A Smart Mirror Work?

A smart mirror is composed of three components: a two-way mirror, a digital display, and a computer. Unlike normal mirrors, a smart mirror needs light to pass through at the back of the glass to view the display. Behind its back sits a TV/tablet/monitor screen powered by an internal computer. It is used to display any information for your smart mirror. A small computer like Raspberry Pi is used to connect to your home’s wireless network via Bluetooth, enabling it to show real-time information obtained from the Internet.

Advantages of A Smart Mirror

Now, a mirror is not only used for providing vision but so much more. With an array of smart technologies, there are various advantages of smart mirrors which are as follows:

You can check updates easily using voice control.
You can do multiple things simultaneously like brushing your teeth while catching up on the latest traffic, weather, or stock updates.
You can use LED lighting and on and off sensor to create different atmospheres.
You can manage security cameras, smart window and door locks, and doorbell controls.
You can completely customize your smart mirror by choosing the modules you want to include.

A Great Home Feature

If you get a smart mirror in your home, it will be the most talked-about feature that provides a natural way of interaction through which people access personalized services. As someone enters the room housing a smart mirror, a sensor in the mirror turns on the LEDs around its edges, lighting up the entire room. And when they walk towards the mirror, the smart display turns on, showing everything set up like calendar, current date and time, news, etc. Not only it gives your house a futuristic appeal, but smart mirrors also ensure convenience in accessing services with the least human intervention. The point here to stress is that when done rightly, a smart mirror can be your great home feature. You can also do a mirror workout with this smart mirror.

Smart Mirror Features

The best thing about smart mirrors is that you can build one for yourself customized as per your own needs. Here are a few features of a smart mirror that you can include:

Digital display – An electronic display that can show different kinds of information through widgets.
Touch screen mirror – Incorporating touch to your smart mirror enables you to interact with it.
Motion detector – Turns on your smart mirror automatically as you are around.
LED lighting – An LED strip around the smart mirror comes with multiple luminosity levels, from cool to warm light.
Stereo speakers – Built-in stereo speakers to produce a stereo effect when makes the sound.
Microphone – Microphone integrated to record audio for communication as well as music.
Voice control – The voice control feature allows you to control your device with spoken commands.
Facial recognition – Ability to detect who is in the room and customize the content for every person.
Water- and scratch-resistance – The surface cannot be easily damaged when scratched or exposed to the elements.

Is Smart Mirror Hard to Build?

No. You can make your futuristic smart mirror easily with some simple tools and hardware. To start with, click here and learn everything you need to know to build a DIY smart mirror. Our step-by-step tutorial tells that you can even make one for yourself without any coding expertise. If you have always wanted your home to have an ultramodern feel, making your own smart mirror is an excellent approach to make it happen.

Discover Hilo Smart Mirror

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of building your own smart mirror, then you should definitely give HILO a whirl. Driven by technology and splendid design, HILO offers two models of smart mirrors, Hilo Light and Hilo XL, specifically intended for North American businesses and consumers. The mirrors are powered by Android with a fully interactive display, LED lights, motion sensors, microphone, and stereo speakers. These mirrors can be connected to fitness trackers, electric devices, and smart scales, making it a must-have in your home.

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