Created By
Joy Buolamwini
IDEA
The Aspire Mirror is a device that enables you to look at yourself and see a reflection on your face based on what inspires you or what you hope to empathize with.
ASPIRE
Creator: Joy Buolamwini
CONCEIVED THROUGH
The Thing From The Future Card Game
After a captivating talk by futurist Stuart Candy , I played the Thing From The Future Card Game which provides parameters to create an object that will be used in a future context.
Transform - Make - Artwork - Optimism
I Imagined The Hall of Possibilities!
-A place with paintings you walk into to live the future you desire ... if only for a small period of time. The Aspire Mirror is a First Approximation.
Proposed October 6, 2015
INFLUENCED BY
Science Fiction Evolution
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?
One Small Step
The concept for the Aspire Mirror was influenced by tales of shape shifting from Ghanaian tale of Anansi the spider, movies like Transformers and the presence of emotional devices like the empathy box and mood organ in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Phillip Dick's future world made me reflect on the role of empathy in our present world.
The idea of Mercerism facilitated through the empathy box was to induce empathy so humanity might be more compassionate. The Aspire Mirror projects quotes and faces that are meant to induce reflection on other ideals such as
- Oneness with nature
- Dedication
- Humility
- Self Actualization
- Harmony
- Faith
Components
SOFTWARE
LIBRARIES
Like the first iteration, version three of the mirror uses
- Beyond Reality Face NXT – Face Detection and Tracking
- Vibrant.js – Color Extraction from photos
- jQuery – Animation
- Chrome Remote Desktop - Inspiration Panel Control
HARDWARE
MATERIALS
- Half-silvered mirror
- Dell Monitor
- Logitech Web Camera (Carl Zeiss Tessar)
- Wooden mount for mirror and screen
- Wooden riser for mirror and screen
Aspire Mirror Setup
Final Presentation
Science Fabrication Course
Aspire Mirror was incubated in the MIT Media Lab's Science Fabrication Course
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