Have you ever snapped a photo of your outfit at home or from a store changing room in hopes of getting a second opinion from a friend? Amazon hopes to take on that role of that “friend” with the keen eye for fashion with the release of the Echo Look, an Alexa-powered, voice-activated digital assistant that snaps photos or videos at the user’s whims for the sole purpose of piecing together flattering outfits.
The Echo Look joins Amazon’s existing lineup of hands-free digital assistants, sporting the same technologies and features as its less fashion-oriented Echo family siblings. That means users can vocally ask the Look about news, trivia, weather, and traffic, while also voice-activating connected smart home devices, playback audiobooks or music, and set alarms – just like the other two Echo devices.
Where Amazon’s newest Echo device stands out is with the integration of a digital camera outfitted with an array of built-in LED lighting, all engineered to capture flattering photos and video of outfits. Just command the Look, “Alexa, take a photo,” and the 5-megapixel camera snaps either a still image or records a short video to allow users to twirl around to inspect/admire the day’s outfit. The Look even applies an effect similar to the iPhone’s Portrait Mode, blurring out the background in a quasi-bokeh effect to better focus on clothing rather than the surroundings to review on your connected phone or tablet before sending it out into the selfie-sphere of social media.
Photos or videos can be immediately shared through social media channels (of course), with the additional option to tap Alexa’s integrated AI and machine learning capabilities. Comparing two outfits or the sum of outfits worn prior, the Look can offer its opinion which outfit is more flattering. Amazon calls this feature Style Check, a percentage score system; Style Check becomes more accurate with more use and feedback, alongside ongoing input from Amazon’s team of fashion specialists (we’re curious about the experience and credentials of these specialists). It’s not much of a stretch to guess the Look will use this collected data about personal fashion habits and preferences to push more accurate clothing recommendations to conveniently purchase via Amazon.
Like the previous launch of the Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo Look is currently available by invitation only. Those interested will have to shell out $199 for this second-opinion fashion-minded digital assistant.
from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/amazon-echo-look-personal-stylist/
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