Will We See Digital Haircut Services?
Haircuts, they are sometimes seen as one of the most defining factors in a person’s appearance. For some, it might even influence their personality or self-esteem in significant ways. People love their hair and there is a reason why salons, barbers and everything in between have thrived for years. It’s a basic necessity. I for one can say, I like to have well maintained tidy hair. It doesn’t need to be the most creative, but a suitable and somewhat fashionable style is what I look for. Sometimes I feel adventurous and discussing this with my hair stylist can be an interesting conversation, other times I might be out of my normal living quarters and have to gamble with another.
For the weeks ahead, there will be no haircuts and no stylists to attend to my hair. It is the least of my worries while we await the departure of the coronavirus epidemic. This did spur some thought into my head however, what if we had the technology to bring our haircuts home? I don’t mean making your hairdresser come to your place or to buy your own clippers and DIY. Automatic haircut robots have been seen in the past and it’s an interesting concept, if somewhat unappealing without human discussion and inspiration. But the world of connectivity and robotics did make me think of something entirely.
What if your favourite stylist could trim your hair from the comfort of your home without being there? Merging connectivity, sensing applications and robotics, perhaps this could become possible in the future. A world where barbers, stylists and salons can reach endless clients via the internet, assuming control of a pair of arms and working their magic remotely. Precise hand and body tracking is reaching consumer levels and it might not be long before we see such applications where someone may pilot hands over the internet to deliver a haircut.
Technology is fascinating and the hair industry could one day see a transformation entirely. I personally love the feeling of going out and being treated as a guest, talking to familiar faces. There is a social element there. Yet the social element via AR or VR could easily be an interesting dynamic to implement. My hair continues to grow in a wonderful (or not so wonderful) puff and it really made me think, what other haircut technologies have come to market in recent years. Here’s a video of a cool robotic arm delivering a programmed haircut:
