Folk in need of a fresh new haircut inevitably end up stock still, wanly staring at their own face. Chit-chat is commonplace but I for one grow weary of tiresome tales of how Sharon's kids have been eating mud in the garden, or drawing ducks on the walls in crayola. Ho ho, yes Sharon, what a predicament. Ho ho, quite Sharon, ducks' heads do look like penises.
Immobile, trapped and bored of spotting the imperfections covering your disembodied head, you wish for something to do whilst your trainee hair technician hacks at your precious barnet.
But not in this hairdresser's.
This place employs eye tracking technology to judge the direction of your gaze via a camera set in the mirror [link1]. The mirror itself is a projection mirror screen [link2] on which your gaze is displayed in real time as a small blue blob.
Upon sitting down, the mirror displays a smörgåsbord of options, ala the MayGay pub games we all know and love. By staring at any in particular for 3 seconds the option is selected. Options include:
Mirror mode, in which you see no projection;
Buzzer mode, in which a line is drawn on the mirror and the punter must follow it precisely around. Similar to the game in which you attempt to slide a metal loop around a shaped metal pole without touching the sides;
Rat attack mode, in which rats appear on the screen and the punter must whack them by blinking at them;
And a host of other games. An off button is displayed at all times in the corner that will switch back to mirror mode whenever you wish, just by staring at it.
Natural time limit - complete the game before you are politely forced to tip your head forward please.-- theleopard, Dec 05 2007 Eye tracking http://www.etre.com...eyetracking/showme/Watch the video... [theleopard, Dec 05 2007] Mirror screen http://www.holopro....elscheibe.html?&L=1 [theleopard, Dec 05 2007] virtual makeover tool http://www.ivillage...display/0,,,00.html [pyggy potamus, Dec 05 2007] Eye Tracking Hairdresser's what?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 05 2007 Depends what you're looking at.
Mind you, I'm admittedly puzzled as to how to write the word for a shop-of-hair-artists in relation to its lingering apostrophe.-- theleopard, Dec 05 2007 Ah - I see. This is eye tracking, not for people who dress hair, but for the establishment at which they conduct their business. Fair use of the apostrophe, then.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 05 2007 Score!
And the idea...?-- theleopard, Dec 05 2007 nifty
I read a psychology thing that said physical eye motions affect mood: moving your eyes to the upper right makes people happy
an eye tracker amusement with frequent right moves would improve client perspective-- beanangel, Dec 05 2007 i wish they had this invention coupled with a virtual makeover tool available at my hairdresser's... it'd be very helpful to people like me who have a hard time deciding on a hairstyle.-- pyggy potamus, Dec 05 2007 And if Sharon is wearing a low-cut top?
No but seriously, genius.-- zen_tom, Dec 05 2007 [custard] See doodle in Long Kiss Goodnight for details.-- marklar, Dec 06 2007 "That's a duck, not a dick."
(Kudos to [marklar]. For a moment there I thought that one was just for me.)
Idea does need a better name though. It needs one of those teeth-curlingly bad puns that hairdressers are trained to come up with.-- theleopard, Dec 06 2007 Cool. I want one of these things on *rolls out list* -Bedroom Ceiling -Car Windshield -TV (with virtual remote) -My computer -My game boy -My Fish tank -Elevators -Aircraft Windows -Bus Windows -My Wristwatch -Paper -Dresses ;)-- xxobot, Dec 06 2007 Nice.
By tweaking TrackIR and VR goggle tools, mirror screen and applying the technology to contact lenses you could virtually dart missiles and such around the mirror attacking and bombing the hairdressers mullet.-- skinflaps, Dec 06 2007 [xxobot], sounds like you want to be a paraplegic.-- theleopard, Dec 07 2007 random, halfbakery