Outthink Melanoma

Our studio was contracted to create realtime interactive smart mirrors as part of the IBM Watson Outthink Melanoma campaign. The interactive mirror installation took place at Bondi beach over two days and had over 800 participants.

The installation worked by having a person stand in front of the smart mirror. When a face was detected then the experience would start with an explanation from Watson about the dangers of skin cancer. A photo of the participant's face was then taken using a high-resolution RGB image from a Canon SLR, and also an ultraviolet image from a secondary camera that we had made for the installation. The RGB image was then analysed to give information about the participant's age, gender, hair, and eye colour. The ultraviolet image allowed us to detect the amount of sunscreen coverage to the face which was then displayed back to the participant on the smart mirror.

Based on the information gathered from analysing both images, while also having a realtime feed of the current temperature and UV index, we were able to detect the participant's chances of skin cancer. If the detection was high, then they were offered a free onsite skin check.

To run the experience, we created custom software that handled all four camera feeds, performed computer vision and artificial intelligence on the images, created realtime visuals for the mirrors that guided the experience, system for saving all participant data for further analysis for the client.

The project won the following awards:

• Webby for Best Use of Machine Learning
• Bronze APAC Effie
• Best Use of Technology in a Campaign CommsCon Award- PR-Led Event or Activation of the Year CommsCon Award

Credits

Client: IBM / Ogilvy Australia
Production: MindBuffer & Mycelium Studios
Software Development: MindBuffer & Sensory Empire
Video Production: Ogilvy Australia
Industrial Design: Copper ID
Graphic Design: Stonier Creative