If you can find a beauty salon in almost every neighborhood you visit, you can imagine how important physical appearance is for us. What do you usually do when you go to a beauty salon? Would you like to change your look from time to time?
At Uquo, we asked questions like these during 8 days to nearly 100 people in Colombia, as part of our product development process. It involves advanced engineering, design thinking and of course, entrepreneurial spirit.
AUDIENCE
I am sure you agree with us when we consider that a lot of people take care of their physical appearance and that many have a smartphone nowadays. According to Statista, in 2017 the number of Apple iPhones in use across the world was 728 million. And this is only a portion of the smartphone market.
In Colombia, people who helped us with our questions, were mostly aged 15 to 29 years, representing 53% of the interviewed persons, and the majority were women, 65% of them. Moreover, almost half of all of them were using iPhone, the others were using Samsung and other brands of mobile phones.
ENGINEERING BEAUTY
Why a smartphone with a beauty kit? Well, by merging technologies like augmented reality and artificial intelligence, we can use smartphones to try different looks while feeling real. It is possible to simulate real changes to your hair, eyes, face, or even fingers. Just imagine playing with hair cut, hair color, cosmetics, eyebrows, beards, lens, nails, and many more.
By talking to people we get to know what they want and as long as we are able to fulfill their needs, we are achieving quality. At Uquo, we develop specific requirements that represent the voice of the customer, you are the most important factor for us.
RESULTS
In this iterative process we have tested and prototyped with Face Tracking to basically have the geometry of the face in real time, allowing us to identify facial expressions and parts like the nose, left and right eye, as well as mouth with upper and lower lips.
This computer vision combined with Augmented Reality enables the recognition of faces in static images as well. Once the features we want to modify are identified, we place a 2D or 3D model on it so you can appreciate the change and how it fits to you.
LEARNING
A lot of things can be done to supply the needs from people who are looking for platforms that allow them to simulate changes to their physical aspect. Immersive experiences with technologies like Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence is the approach taken by Uquo.
We have found some apps in the market of mobile phones. However, most of them are not open to South America, and some others lack realism as well as engaging user experience.
We have developed a starting point toward product development, regarding technology and beauty through mobile apps or even smart mirrors. This has been considered within a business to business (B2B) model.Click here to contact us and to know more.
