Last month, owing to my vivid interest in startups and technology, I attended the Telenor IoT Hackathon 2018. 14 startups from across the country participated in the Hackathon and an IoT startup Smart Mirror emerged victorious at the competition. Led by the duo Uzair and Saliha, who are enrolled at the School of Systems and Technology (SST) at UMT, Smart Mirror spiked my curiosity and I was compelled to know more about this project.
In conversation with TechJuice, Uzair Hussain, Founder of Smart Mirror shared his entrepreneurial journey with great passion.
The Journey of Smart Mirror
Uzair was always passionate about technology and understood the impact it can cast to transform lives. Since his childhood, he was curious about the technology integrated into home appliances and inspired by the futuristic aspects shown in Hollywood movies. Being a student of Software Engineering, and following international technology trends, Uzair realized that many breakthroughs find their way to Pakistan very late. Therefore, a major chunk of our population remains oblivious to such technological advancements.
This is when Uzair decided to develop something unique for the local community after he came across an online display of a digital mirror which inspired him to build it commercially in Pakistan.
He shared his thoughts with a close friend Saliha, who later joined him as the co-founder of Smart Mirror, and both of them immediately kickstarted the brainstorming process. They imagined a mirror that did not only reflect the image of the user but also indicated important features like date & time, weather condition, Bluetooth and daily inspiration. This is how the Smart Mirror was born. While the concept has already gained popularity in the digital spaces, for Pakistan it will be the first locally designed product harnessing the technology.
How does it work?
Smart Mirror may appear like your average daily mirror but it has integrated some interesting AI and hardware features. The mirror is responsive and smart, allowing it to interact with its users. Comprising an inbuilt mic, and a camera, the mirror behaves as a smartphone, albeit a huge one.
How cool would it be, if you wake up in the morning and while brushing your teeth or taking a bath are able to know that what the weather be like today, what are the trending news in the world, what your friends are saying on social media, or even by a simple voice command are able to book a ride to your destination. This is exactly what Smart Mirror is doing.
Currently, Smart Mirror is voiced controlled but it will soon be touch responsive. It is equipped with an ODROID, a mini computer for its connection with WiFi, Google Voice, social media platforms and other third-party applications. It charges via plug-in charging method. Owing to these attached tools, Smart Mirror becomes a personal assistant too.
The startup has already launched its Android and iOS apps, through which the users can synchronize their smartphone data into the Smart Mirror just like they will do with a smartwatch. The users also have the option to prioritize the features they use the most, transforming the mirror into a personalized dashboard.
Future Plans
Smart Mirror is currently incubated at Plan9, where the team is strategizing how to bring the price tag down so it can become more accessible. Currently, the mirror is produced in Pakistan, if the demand rises the team might move towards Chinese manufacturers. The startup aims to launch their range of products in the coming months and will keep adding more features to improve the user experience. The product will be available in three sizes with price tags ranging from PKR 20,000 to 80,000.
That is all for today, I will be covering more startups in the upcoming days. If you want your startup to be featured at TechJuice, email me at aqsa.khunshan@techjuice.pk.
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