Published : Sept. 22, 2016 - 13:21
On Thursday, startup company Virtua Live (CEO: Lee Jae-yeol) announced it has recently begun providing its independently developed total hair solution “Hair Fit” in Seoul’s Gangnam district and Gyeonggi Province’s Bundang.
Hair Fit uses customer data and information technology to create a virtual hairstyle customized to each user and displays a photo of the hairstyle on a tablet for the user to see. Unlike mobile applications that utilize hair simulation for purely entertainment purposes, Hair Fit is highly functional and practical, allowing users to design detailed hairstyles that fit the shape of their face.
The procedure is simple: The user takes a picture of himself or herself using the hair salon’s dedicated Hair Fit tablet PC, then chooses the hairstyle that best suits the shape of his or her face. The hair designer then uses the selected hairstyle as a guide. After the hair designer is done, a photo of the user is taken and saved on the salon’s database so it may be used to provide other users with images of the most recent hairstyle trends and consultation services. In order to increase the practicality of Hair Fit, Virtua Live has partnered with hair salon Palan Hair to conduct a trial run of the service.
Hair simulation is based on a technology that utilizes IT and customer-specific data to render a virtual, highly customized hairstyle.
CEO Lee Jae-yeol explained, “We use fitting and live motion engines developed in collaboration with a subsidiary of Sony to make it possible to create hairstyles that are as natural-looking as possible.”
This means the hairstyle is not only optimized to one’s face shape, but also takes into consideration facial expressions. Hair Fit also allows for left-to-right rotation of the hairstyle image by up to 15 degrees.
Once it secures a solid customer base, the company plans to expand the service nationwide, and it expects to enter overseas markets as well.
CEO Lee said, “We are currently negotiating strategic partnerships with leading hair salons in Korea, and hope to expand our business into China and Japan.”
(jshwang@heraldcorp.com)