The Mirror That Only Reflects When You Smile

There’s a new high tech mirror that’s been specially made for cancer patients. It will only work as a mirror and become reflective when a user smiles into it.

The device is similar to a tablet and needs to be plugged in. It comes with a mirror as well as a built-in camera and a smart technology that works through a propriety software.  By using facial recognition it captures the face of the person and triggers the surface of the mirror to become reflective when it detects a smile.

Just like any other mirror, it can be hung on the wall or can be put on a table or desk.  The biggest difference from a conventional mirror is the price, with a hefty cost of $2000-3000.

Turkish industrial designer Berk Ilkhan decided to shift his focus on products that would help cancer patients experience more joy after having a family member suffer through cancer treatments.

He explains that it was a challenge for her to look in the mirror and acknowledge her situation.  Just like how we smile when we’re happy, it goes both ways.  Our facial expressions can in fact affect how we feel, smiling can make you happy.

Ilkhan who studied at the School Of Visual Arts in New York has also spent a significant amount of time in hospitals talking to cancer patients and doctors in Turkey, where he understood even more how much support and morale are needed for changing someone’s experience.

It took him an entire two years to design the mirror and is now producing the mirror in limited quantities.  The product will soon have a kickstarter campaign with the goal of lowering the cost of the mirror to $500. He also would like to donate the mirror to various hospitals when is financially able to.

Despite his incredible and heartwarming intentions, not everyone has received his mirror so well, feeling as though it is rather condescending and that the price is exploitative.  Some has even seen it is comparable to women being harassed on the street to smile.