1 OBJECTIVE Lifestyle of this era has been changed in such a way that comprising time is the most difficult task
1 OBJECTIVE
Lifestyle of this era has been changed in such a way that comprising time is the most difficult task. Today’s generation look for smartness in everything they handle. Comprising time is not possible but things need to be done on time. There are conventional ways to remember things but they become ineffective at times of urgency. In order to overcome this, there are several techniques to keep one updated about one’s daily activities. Though mobile phones are playing a vital role in one’s daily routine, a smart technique is required to make even more productivity of one’s time and day.
A Smart Mirror is a development of one such technique which keeps updating one’s daily routine when they are getting groomed before the mirror for their work. Basically, a smart mirror is an innovative appliance that incorporates interactive services of information, offered through a user interface on the surface of a mirror. The smart mirror is proposed with an idea that when one looks at the mirror before going out, the time spent in front of the mirror must be useful. The smart mirror displays services like climate – data, time, date, daily appointments, and emails on its surface by facial identification. It can further be enhanced by connecting it to other home appliances and devices using IOT.
The smart mirror has the necessary applications and features needed for time efficiency focused device. When a user stands in front of the mirror, it automatically recognizes the user and then turns on the monitor hidden behind a two-way mirror. The display used is a 20″ monitor which is mounted behind a two-way mirror is surrounded by a wooden frame structure secured with clamps gives the mirror structure. This encasing also includes the speakers, pi camera and also the PIR sensor. A suit of desired applications is displayed on the 20″ monitor, thus effectively maximizing the time spent in front of a mirror.
1.2 EXISTING SYSTEM
The concept of a smart mirror or a magic mirror is relatively new but not unknown. The existing system uses either a Raspberry Pi, Microcontroller or a central computer with Windows 8.1 or iOS featuring a multi-core CPU. These systems either have a voice identification or sound identification as a main module. All the existing system has the very basic information like weather data, time and date as their basic modules. The additional modules can be added accordingly to the user’s preference. The type of mirror used in the existing model is either a two-way mirror or two-way acrylic sheets. Also, the size of the monitor depends on the user’s preference.
1.3 PROPOSED SYSTEM
Significant research had to be done to develop a backdrop of our project. Firstly, similar projects and products had to be investigated and researched to know what has been done, how has it been done and what can be possibly added to make our project standout from the rest. Next, to decide on the best product to use in our smart mirror system, the individual pieces making up the mirror framework had to be researched.
The proposed system uses Raspberry Pi 3 Model B since this has additional features when compared to Raspberry Pi Zero, Pi 1 and Pi 2. The main advantage of Pi 3 when compared to earlier models is its better CPU clock rate and better RAM. Also, the Pi 3 has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth whereas the Pi 2 needs an USB adaptor to add them. The architecture of Pi 3 has 64-bit while Pi 2 has 32-bit giving it a boost, thereby giving the user a better performance. Hence all the advantages seen in Raspberry Pi 3 makes us to choose the Pi 3 over the other models.
The mirror used in the proposed system is a two-way mirror. This is preferred over the acrylic sheets as they tend to break easily. Also, the monitor chosen for this project is 20″ HP monitor. This displays the content to the user. The modules used in this design are the weather data, time, date, holidays, news headlines, traffic estimation, traffic routes and alternative routes to a specific place, timetable for a particular user, emails, notifications, events information etc. to name a few. Additionally, a PIR sensor is used to switch on and off the monitor and face identification is used to access the display personalized for each specific user.
1.4 PROPOSED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
The Fig. 1.1 gives the architecture of the proposed smart mirror framework. The monitor is kept behind the two-way mirror. The mirror can display the user’s face as well as the content displayed on the mirror. The CPU used as the mirror framework is the Raspberry Pi 3. This Pi 3 is hooked behind the monitor. The mirror is encased in a wooden frame secured tightly by clamps. The Pi camera is connected to Pi 3 and placed on top of the wooden frame to capture the image of the person standing in front of the mirror. The speakers and microphone are also attached to the Pi 3 and they are placed on either side of the frame for better audio.
