The retail sphere continues to be one of the most agile adopters of technology: a recent partnership between a 3D-scanning company and eyewear tech developer Sfered is the latest example.
In 0.1 seconds, the smart mirror designed by Fuel3D can capture all the data it needs to create an accurate 3D model of your face. This technology is about to make shopping for glasses easier, and widen consumer options exponentially.
As Luke Dormehl writes in Digital Trends, customers who walk into an optical store featuring Fuel3D’s mirror won’t be limited to choosing from the glasses on the shelves. The latest eyewear catalogs will be constantly uploaded into the smart mirror, allowing shoppers to find the perfect fit.
How the Smart Mirror Works
The mirror is built to collect the measurements an optician needs to fit glasses properly. Phil Newman told Digital Trends that the scanner “captures true facial 3D data in 0.1 seconds, allowing data capture of all the relevant data needed to create custom eyewear — including pupillary distance, nose bridge width, facial width, and distance to ear.”
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Those numbers are exactly what makes a pair of frames comfortable or not. Pupillary distance, the space between the centers of your pupils, decides where the lenses need to sit. The width of your nose bridge and face, and the distance to your ears, decide whether frames pinch, slide down or sit crooked. Newman added that the system also lets opticians and optometrists fit frames to customers virtually.
“We [chose to incorporate] the design into a mirror because when people look into a mirror, they focus much more naturally than if they are looking into a camera,” says Phil Newman, Fuel 3D’s CMO.
Newman went on to explain the benefit of that choice in the same interview: it “means that the scanner collects more accurate data for custom eyewear fitting.”
Custom Frames, Not Just a Better Fit
The scanner’s first partner showed where the technology was heading. Digital Trends reported that it was set to be used by Danish eyewear designer Monoqool, which makes 3D-printed polyamide frames customized for each wearer. With an accurate 3D model of a customer’s face, frames don’t just have to be chosen from a range of standard sizes; they can be made to measure.
Newman said the mirror was designed to be deployed through independent retail opticians, and that it was about to be tested in select optical stores in Holland, with full retail availability expected by the end of 2016.
It’s becoming increasingly common for end users to first encounter the latest technology while they’re shopping for something completely different. In the near future, you can look forward to seeing and being seen by smart mirrors at optical stores, and beyond.
Who Was Behind Fuel3D
Fuel3D grew out of academic research. The Oxford Science Park described it in 2018 as a company spun out of the University of Oxford in 2005, with offices in Oxford and in Greenville, North Carolina. That year, Fuel3D announced it was moving its UK headquarters into the park’s new Schrödinger Building, and said its platform was used in healthcare, security and retail. Its newest product at the time, BioVolume, was a system for scanning and measuring tumors in preclinical cancer research.
What Happened Next
The company’s later story was less upbeat. According to the UK’s Companies House register, Fuel 3D Technologies Limited entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with the winding up beginning on January 30, 2024.
What It Means for Retailers
The smart mirror is a good example of technology meeting shoppers where they already are. Nobody walks into an optician to try 3D scanning, but almost everyone looks in a mirror while trying on glasses. Building the scanner into that habit is what made it practical.
For retailers, the lesson is that a new tool works best when it removes a real friction, like limited shelf space or a poor fit, rather than adding a gadget for its own sake. And as Fuel3D’s own path shows, having good technology is only part of the job; turning it into a lasting business is the harder part.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Fuel3D smart mirror do?
The Fuel3D smart mirror captures the data needed to create an accurate 3D model of a shopper's face in 0.1 seconds. Opticians can use it to fit glasses and try frames on customers virtually.
What measurements does the Fuel3D mirror capture?
According to Fuel3D CMO Phil Newman, it captures pupillary distance, nose bridge width, facial width and distance to ear, which are the measurements needed for custom eyewear.
Why did Fuel3D build the scanner into a mirror?
Phil Newman said people focus much more naturally when looking into a mirror than into a camera, which means the scanner collects more accurate data for custom eyewear fitting.
Which eyewear company was set to use the Fuel3D mirror first?
Digital Trends reported that Danish eyewear designer Monoqool, which makes 3D-printed polyamide frames customized for each wearer, was set to use the technology. Testing was planned for select optical stores in Holland.
What happened to Fuel3D?
Fuel3D was spun out of the University of Oxford in 2005 and moved its UK headquarters to The Oxford Science Park in 2018. According to Companies House, Fuel 3D Technologies Limited entered creditors' voluntary liquidation, with winding up beginning on January 30, 2024.