Google Trends shows huge gains on Smart Mirrors and Progressive Web Apps both, so how about combining the two into an all powerful highly intelligent mirror with both offline and online functionality?
This is what a team of developers and engineers have been working on with Smart Reflection.
One of Europe's largest app development agencies have been pioneering research and development into smart mirrors and progressive web apps separately for some time now, but as of last month they announced that they were going to combine the two technologies.
Compared to so-called traditional smart mirrors that use Linux and an internet connection in order to work, Smart Reflection might just run without both internet and any fixed operating system.
By using app shells to wrap all visuals together with service workers which will cache and serve pages and content, it is possible to create a near instant load time for new screens, that works just as well offline as online.
Even more impressive perhaps is the number of applications it opens up for compared to the internet connected counterparts currently available only in do-it-yourself materializations.
For it will be possible for any third party developer to program and code their own applications, working on both desktops, mobile applications and now also smart mirrors, to talk with one another, and even other non-internet connected devices. In fact, it will be possible with the Smart Reflection mirror to wire different sensors and gadgets into the display as well, having that data show up on the mirror alongside the 4K video feeds, Facebook status updates, and Google News listings.
Originally, the manufacturer wanted the mirror for private use for themselves, but quickly realized the huge potential since the market was opening up, and with no real competition - why not? There are also literally hundreds of different use-cases for this type of project, ranging from bathroom and hallway mirrors that recognize users and show personalized content, over to retail stores building mirrors into their changing rooms for allowing their customers easy purchasing, size change requests and browsing the catalog for in-stock products.
Stadiums and public areas can add smart mirrors to their infrastructure, enabling visitors to locate themselves, watch targeted advertising and get discounts when sharing their status with friends and strangers online. Currently, the main interest visible online comes from gadget interested home users that are not afraid to follow a 2000 word long tutorial on how to solder and wire different parts and pieces together. While these are also among some of the nerdier types, as is often the case, the most technically inclined are usually the proponents of up and coming technology, proving more successful with the average consumer, than with the pioneers once the technology has been sufficiently developed.
Progressive Web Apps are a business specializing in websites enhanced by Google's latest concept of the same name, meaning that websites can improve their loading times by an average of 30%, decrease their bounce rates by more than 50% on average, and thus improve their conversion rates with anything from 20% to 104% results pouring in from existing implementations.
This has led to the topic becoming a solid 100% on Google Trends, indicating that people are very interested in the topic, but the results also confirm the general interest, and so having Nodes with Smart Reflection gamble on these two technologies might not be so much jeopardizing their position, as much as investing in the future.