'Dorian Gray' mirror offers shock reflection of the future Ladies Gentlemen.

[capt_buzzard]

A ''Mirror" that reflects what a person can expect to look like in years to come could soon shock people into reforming their lifestyles, it was disclosed yesterday.

The flat-screen TV linked to a set of cameras and powerful computer software acts like a reallife version of the portrait in that Irishman Oscar Wilde's famous tale "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

In the story, Gray stays forever youthful while the destructive effects of ageing and self indulgence are visited upon his portrait in the attic.

The Mirror device being developed by French scientist uses sophisticated technology to achieve a similar result.

Someone looking at the screen will see a real-time image of him or herself in five years time, taking into account all the unflattering effects of habits such as smoking.drinking, eating too much and avoiding exercise.



Anyone using the system must first be willing to be spied on by a network of high resolution cameras dotted around the home.

The webcams will feed images of everyday activities to a computer running software that is able to recognise different patterns of behaviour.

''New Scientist'' magazine reported yesterday, ''It will be able to identify, for instance, when you have spent most of the day sitting on the couch instead of on the exercise bike, and will do spot visits to the fridge for snacks and drinks.".



"Verbal or text prompts from the computer will ask you to identify what you are eating and drinking. Of course, how honest you are is up to you."

Next the computer will work out how this behaviour is likely to effect your weight in future years. If it decides you are overeating, it will calculate how many pounds to add to the image of the person standing in front of the mirror.

Another part of the package will work on the face, adding wrinkles and blotches in response to smoking and drinking.



Scientists hope to have a prototype mirror ready this year if the behaviour recognition and image processing software can be completed in time.

How the public will react to the system remains to be seen. Some experts think the "Mirror" helping people visualise the long term outcomes of their behaviour could be a very effective way to motivate change.





www.unison.ie/

[BabyRider]

Ya know? Just reading this article made me think about all the time I spend in front of this computer. I'm gonna go do something a bit more constructive.

[capt_buzzard]

BabyRider wrote: Ya know? Just reading this article made me think about all the time I spend in front of this computer. I'm gonna go do something a bit more constructive.That's my gal:-6

[BabyRider]

capt_buzzard wrote: That's my gal:-6

Why, Thank ya' Captain. In the time I left, I have dusted my house, windex'ed all my glass tables, cleaned out my dresser, (finding lots to get rid of), vacuumed, taken out the trash, cleaned the bedroom, washed the dishes, gone for a minor grocery run, and cleaned the cat box. NOW I feel better!

:yh_sweat