A company is working to making your next shopping experience a little bit easier, or more intrusive, depending on how you look at it. Universal Display has created mannequins equipped with electronic transmitters that can send you information about the clothes its wearing, how much it costs, and the designer.
The mannequins work through an app called Iconeme, which the mannequins ping on a passerby's smartphone within 100 feet. The creators have even made it possible to purchase items directly on the app without ever having to leave the comfort of the... sidewalk. The company provides mannequins to stores like Uniqlo, and Saks, so look out for them in upcoming storefronts.
If mannequins getting one step closer to sentience isn't creepy enough, the mannequins' creators were hard-pressed to find a good spot for the electronic receptors. Slicing the mannequin open around the forehead and slotting it into the head looked too much like a lobotomy and other places restricted the reception, The New York Times reports. The electronic beacon eventually ended up in in the waist.
[via The New York Times]
