I’ve built my own smart mirror. It feels like inventing fire.\u00a0Even though I’m a classic business student wearing chino pants, yachting shoes and blue dress shirts. In a word: I can explain tax-saving schemes to you or capitalize on real estate projects. But I definitely do not have a clue about coding. Honestly.\u00a0Still, I tried to build a smart mirror.<\/p>\n
It was a disaster. Just finding the right components cost\u00a0me a lot of time, nerves and money. In this article I will tell you how everything started. I will explain to\u00a0you why I didn’t invent the idea, but, however, decided to start the project glancr together with some friends.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n
In October 2015 I was bored. My girlfriend was doing part of her law studies in Istanbul and I wanted to start some new projects while she was gone. While I was browsing the internet for ideas I came across the \u201eRaspberry Pi<\/a>\u201c for the first time. (For everyone as clueless as myself: The Raspberry Pi is a small computer in the size of a credit card with USB connections and computing power for smaller programs.)<\/p>\n I was fascinated, since I could still remember my first computer from 1990: A really old model in the size of three shoe\u00a0boxes. Browsing on, I found more and more exciting projects that had been put into practice by some nerds (sorry) using the Raspberry. Among others I came across the dutchman Michael Teeuw, who presented the \u201eMagic Mirror<\/a>\u201c on his blog. His idea inspired me and I decided to recreate this mirror myself.[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_margin=”default” text_align=”left” el_id=”was-ist-ein-smart-mirror”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”3\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n A smart mirror simply is a spy mirror<\/a>\u00a0in front of a display. This kind of one-way mirror appears to be transparent if you look into a bright room, while standing in a dark room.\u00a0From the side of the bright room the spy mirror just works like an ordinary mirror, remaining opaque. If you choose a dark frame and white light for the writing, the writing will be visible on the side that you’re looking at. Sounds awesome.<\/p>\n However, the spy mirror only becomes a smart mirror once it is connected to the computer, which is connected to the wifi. Really simple.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”5748″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” img_link_large=”yes” hover_animation=”none” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”medium_depth” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”3\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n After I had ordered all components and knew what to do, I faced the\u00a0first obstacles.<\/p>\n But this was not the way it worked. If you don’t have a clue about coding and start reading tech-blogs you’ll get depressed after a short while. You literally won’t understand anything. Those blogs basically have\u00a0their own language using terms that start with “sudo” and end in\u00a0cryptic codes. If you try to ask politely how those codes work you either won’t receive an answer or will be bullied by condescending tech-freaks how idiotic you are. Or you’ll receive answers that raise even more questions.<\/p>\n Oh well, I might not be a high-flyer, but I do not give up so easily. I am a person that keeps on working until I have all the answers I need. My former boss told me I had the gift of polite pushiness. This really helped!<\/p>\n After hours of youtube tutorials the Raspberry started working and the display lighted up. Of course, the website did not show yet and while the computer was starting, it showed colorful error reports.<\/p>\n I really really tried. But then I reached a point where nothing seemed to work anymore. Luckily, some friends and friends of friends (Arik<\/a>, Vincent, Gordon<\/a> und Mattes) supported and helped\u00a0me, so that after a while my first smart mirror was finally finished.[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_margin=”default” text_align=”left” el_id=”rahmen”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”3\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n Unlike other construction manuals which\u00a0can be found on\u00a0the internet, it was important to me to build something beautiful. Also, if I hadn’t my girlfriend would have gone crazy having an ugly mirror hanging in the hallway after her return. So, beautiful\u00a0to me meant one<\/em> closed case,\u00a0one<\/em> cord and nothing else<\/em>. I hate cable spaghetti. I actually even hate the one cable that’s visible, but the mirror won’t be able to work without electricity. This is why I built the first prototype using an IKEA picture<\/a> frame, exchanging the glass for a mirror. The depth of the frame was well suited to hide everything unnecessary.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”5747″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” img_link_large=”yes” hover_animation=”none” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”medium_depth” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_margin=”default” text_align=”left” el_id=”spiegelglas”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”3\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n By the way, concerning mirror glass you might find this tip\u00a0useful: On the internet you’ll find construction manuals suggesting to use an inexpensive mirror film. Using water, the foil is glued to the glass. I also tried this, but unfortunately the results were kind of disappointing. As soon as I\u00a0removed the protective film from the foil, it became\u00a0charged with electrostatic energy and attracted tiny dust particles.\u00a0The result of this were\u00a0small margins and bubbles in the foil. This really is not beautiful and also annoying. It was also the reason why I switched to the real one-way mirror made of real glass. The only downside: This mirror is quite expensive.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, because of this detour\u00a0I was able to test different glass types with different light transmissions.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”5758″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” img_link_large=”yes” hover_animation=”none” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”medium_depth” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_margin=”default” text_align=”left” el_id=”warum”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n As you can see for an ordinary mortal like me it takes a village\u00a0to build a smart mirror. The reason for this: So far, there is no solution which is\u00a0actually consumer-friendly.<\/p>\n Again: We did not invent the smart mirror. But we’ve changed the concept in order to make it available to everyone. We’ve changed the smart mirror into a simpler product, which only needs to be connected to power and then guides you through the single steps. It’s that simple. Also, you can customize your smart mirror according to your wishes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1754"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9419,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1754\/revisions\/9419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glancr.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is a smart mirror?<\/h3>\n
The first humiliation<\/h2>\n
Am I an idiot or what’s the secret of\u00a0switching on this computer in the first place?<\/h3>\n
\n
I hoped to find simple “business-management-student-compatible-answers” to these simple questions<\/h2>\n
Without the help of a few friends I would have never finished the smart mirror<\/h3>\n
Aesthetics of the smart\u00a0mirrors<\/h2>\n
The mirror glass<\/h2>\n
This is why we developed glancr<\/h2>\n
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