Mirror, mirror on the wall: what are you for?

IT could be curtains for a household object that has given pleasure to the vain for centuries: mirrors.

TWAM-20150228 EMBARGO FOR TWAM 28 feb 2015 NO REUSE WITHOUT PERMISSION woman with touch screen Pic : Getty Images

SELFIE-taking teenagers, rear-view car cameras and interactive changing room displays where shoppers virtually “try on” outfits could spell extinction for a household object that has given pleasure to the vain for centuries: mirrors.

Mercury-backed glass may yield to computerised screens with in-built cameras. “The idea of smart mirrors is becoming ever more appealing,” says Andy Miah, a professor of future media at the University of Salford. “You could wake up in the morning and look into your smart mirror, which would quickly analyse your health and tell you if you are coming down with an illness, or whether you need to do a bit more exercise or get more sleep.”

The ultra-high definition screens will show faces as they are, rather than in mirrored reverse, and “hopefully, enrich our lives, rather than scare us all to death”.