Yes, I’m dating myself, but my brain has a mind of its own. Like the Melanie Griffith character, I groove on reading gossip (actually in reading anything at all) and making random what-if connections between those thoughts and business. Anyway, that’s why I collect news tidbits from companies across the channel, including systems integrator Accenture, which is always great for coming up with bizarro ideas for new technology.
As Jersey Shore season approaches, therefore, it shouldn’t shock you that I was intrigued by a release it issued yesterday about a high-tech device (you could call it an embedded system) called the Persuasive Mirror. This one is a doozy with implications for the digital health field.
What, praytell, is said device?
Developed by the Accenture Technology Labs unit in France (of course!), the prototype looks like your common household mirror but actually consists of two digital cameras mounted on either side of a flat panel display. The video streams from the cameras create the illusion of a reflection. The real trick, however, is the artificial intelligence used to affect the image that is displayed.
Say, for example, that you’ve dipped into the ice cream in your freezer several times this week. And that your treadmill has gone unused during the same timeframe. The Persuasive Mirror prototype works in tandem with sensors placed throughout your house that collect information about your habits. By adding that data to the video streams and applying a little artificial intelligence, the device can display the possible future impact. So, it could “show” you the weight gain that might in the future be associated with all those extra desserts, or the skin damage that the beach visit might hasten. In the future, the device could track the impact of smoking or drug use.
Accenture plans to use the technology as part of its Intelligent Home Services initiative, which is developing and experimenting with artificial intelligence, embedded systems and other emerging technologies that might benefit the digital health field. Aside from the home, the technology could find applications in the pharmaceutical, medical and insurance fields.
For more on embedded technologies focused on the burgeoning digital health field, click here.
What’s tickling your brain? You can drive me crazy by sending ideas and comments to hclancy@cmp.com.
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