MEDIA RELEASE: Does my virtual forehead look big in this?

The days of stalling online purchases in fear of products “not quite looking like they did on the model” could soon be out of fashion according to new research by Aussie scientists.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, today announced it has filed a series of patents for its new Smart Vision research. Enhancing the ‘virtual change room’, the technology interprets 2D pixels from an image of a human face such as the left eye corner or tip of the nose and turns them into a real-time 3D face-sensing device.

“While pictures can tell us a thousand words, they certainly don’t tell us the whole story,” said Simon Lucey, Group Research Leader for CSIRO’s Digital Productivity and Services Flagship.

“Our computer modelling experts have developed a more accurate and reliable way to create a 3D scan of a person’s face using newly developed algorithms that can turn 2D images from a mobile camera into a 3D model of the face. The technology calculates size so unlike other virtual try-on technologies, customers can try on and view products from any angle — perfectly scaled to their face.”

Through its Digital Productivity and Services Flagship, CSIRO has exclusively licensed the new Smart Vision technology to Glasses.com, an online eyewear retailer, for use in the optical industry.  Glasses.com has combined this research with other developed technology to create an interactive app which allows customers to accurately see how frames fit without ever stepping into a store.

The unique facial mapping software allows the app to produce a true-to-life 180° view of the user's face showing how each pair fits in 3D and letting shoppers compare side-by-side images of each style. Because the technology places a 3D model of the glasses over a 3D rendering of the user's face, shoppers can even reposition the glasses, tapping the screen to ‘slide’ frames up and down the bridge of their nose just as they would in real life.

“We didn't want to just replicate the offline shopping experience - we wanted to improve it. Throughout the development stages, we've worked to create a tool that's so true-to-life it's not only fun, but actually useful in making a purchasing decision,” said Jonathan Coon, CEO of glasses.com's parent company 1-800 CONTACTS.

“Up until now, augmented reality was something of a parlour trick. It was fun but just not accurate or easy enough to be useful. Our hope is that the glasses.com app will be to augmented-reality shopping what 'Toy Story' was for computer-generated animated films - it's just the beginning,” he said.

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the new Smart Vision research is another example of why retailers need to take action to transform their business models for the digital age by embracing new technologies.

“Retailers need to move to hybrid business models that combine the strengths of today’s online and bricks-and-mortar strategies,” said ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman.

“With predictions that by 2025, a leading retailer will make $106 billion more in sales and sell 40 per cent of its goods online, it is becoming increasingly evident that success will be driven by how effectively retailers can harness the power of new technologies to deliver unique value to customers with the speed, efficiency and ubiquity they demand.”[1]

For more information about the CSIRO’s Smart Vision research please visit csiro.au

Editor’s notes

About CSIRO:
CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency and has been pushing the edge of what’s possible for more than 85 years. Today, the organisation has close to 6,500 people working out of 58 centres in Australia and internationally. These people work closely with industry and communities to leave a lasting legacy across five broad areas: food, health and life science industries; energy; environment; information and communications; and manufacturing, materials and minerals.

For more information please visit http://www.csiro.au

About CSIRO’s Computational Informatics Division:

CSIRO Computational Informatics (CCI) Division addresses key challenges across the information and decision making value chain – particularly those related to enhancing Australia’s productivity and efficiency across critical sectors of its economy. Working closely with a range of external partners and collaborators, CCI is a capability hub in key research areas including next generation data analytics, autonomous robotics, complex systems modelling, and decision making under uncertainty. CCI has approximately 440 researchers working at 11 sites around Australia including Dutton Park, Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies, Herston, Australian National University, Clayton, Parkville, Marsfield, North Ryde, Waite Campus, Floreat and Battery Point.

For more information please visit http://www.csiro.au/cci

About CSIRO’s Digital Productivity and Services Flagship:

CSIRO’s Digital Productivity and Services Flagship is a $48 million research initiative targeting productivity growth in Australia through frontier services innovation and by unlocking the value of a national broadband infrastructure. Through its research the flagship will help add value to the Australian economy by developing and delivering more efficient and innovative services that improve people’s wellbeing and prosperity.

For more information please visit www.csiro.au/dpas

About Glasses.com (A division of 1-800 CONTACTS, Inc.)
The stirrings/beginnings/origins for Glasses.com began approximately 10 years ago when 1-800 CONTACTS, Inc. purchased the URL for the website with the intention of improving the eyeglasses shopping experience and providing the same top-notch customer service for which it is known. Today, Glasses.com is an online and on-the-go eyewear shopping experience designed specifically with the consumer in mind, offering top brand and designer names with high-quality and personalized customer service. Working directly with popular frame manufacturers and a world renowned lens manufacturer, Glasses.com's trained opticians and style experts help customers get both the product and look desired.

For more information please visit www.glasses.com

About the Australian Retailer’s Association:

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $258 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

For more information please visit www.retail.org.au

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Daniel Chamberlain, Communication Advisor, CSIRO Information Sciences

M: +61 477 708 849

PH: +61 2 9372 4491

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