BERLIN -- I entered Panasonic's IFA booth as me, a 27-year-old man, and within seconds I was transformed into a virtually unrecognizable female with make-up -- and all I did was look into a mirror.
The magic mirror you see in front of me in the photo above is Panasonic's generically named "Interactive Mirror," a concept product the company dreamed up to be your very own professional health and beauty advisor.
In the middle of the mirror is an oval "augmented-reality portal" that activates with a press of a button -- this is where you align your face. It's also where the camera is hidden. Combined with a variety of projectors, a Panasonic rep was able to use a remote control to select various make-up options to fab me up in.
I could choose how to digitally tweak my eyebrows, how much eye shadow to put on, the color rouge I wanted on my cheeks and lipstick color to apply. It was augmented reality gender-bending.
The mirror also let me "preview" how I would look with a mustache or a goatee or a beard. (Disclaimer: I can't grow any of that stuff proper, so it was definitely fun to see what I looked like with facial hair. Naturally, I thought I looked stupid.)
The interactive mirror is only one part of Panasonic's dream smart home concept.
The other half on show wasn't actually functional and was purely conceptual. The company envisions a smart bed where you can lay down on it and it'll automatically display your vital signs, like body temperature, heart-rate, hydration levels, sleeping cycles, and more on a projection on the wall.
Armed with that data, your room's sensors could then adjust the thermostat or maybe start up a humidifier if the air is too dry, adjust the colors to a more fitting mood, etc.
Panasonic's presentation even showed off a speaker tucked inside of a rug -- not sure what purpose that serves, but sure...
