RFID smart mirror prototype installed at men's store

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on a new RFID-based smart mirror — or Smart.Mirror, to be more precise — installed at Charles Spiegel for Men in Pittsburgh. The mirror is the work of five graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University.

The students tagged all of the products in the Spiegel store with RFID tags, then installed the Smart.Mirror in the dressing room. When a shopper brings products into the room, the mirror suggests other items that would be a good match. Store employees regularly update the content in the system to reflect seasonal changes in style.

"A lot of people come to a specialty store because they'd like some guidance and (the Smart.Mirror) would provide it," said owner Charles Spiegel. "I don't think that takes away from the store clerk at all."

The project developers estimate the mirror will cost a retailer approximately $1,000 per year per device installed. For retailers whose products yield an average profit margin of $2.60 or more, the device can be installed with little or no financial impact, they said.