Advanced Hair Salon 

Who wants a haircut from a robot? Today you mightn’t have an answer, but you’ll definitely see robotics and virtual technology in hair salons. 

Shane Wighton, a US inventor, has programmed robots to cut hair as customers request. Scissors attached to a lever rotate around the head. A vacuum holds the hair tightly. The robot chooses the length of the hair to cut then starts working. The results are ok. The main drawback is that the robot takes longer than a human barber. 

Technology is also being applied to other barbershop services. Amazon has announced the opening of a salon where it aims to test new technology with the general public. The salon will span over 1,500 square feet on Brushfield Street in London's Spitalfields. Augmented reality (AR) and "point-and-learn" will let customers pick products on a display shelf. Scanning the QR code will take them to the Amazon.co.uk shopping page for products they can add to their cart. 

Implications for the future: 

- If haircutting robot technology is fully developed, hairdressing may disappear as a profession. People in many occupations need to upskill and reskill as technology develops. 

- The ultimate convenience of in-store service will be an important factor in making customers decide to use barbershops and other salons. 

- Machine learning may advance until haircuts can be designed to suit each customer’s face and age. 

Sources: 

https://techcrunch.com/.../amazon-is-opening-a-london.../ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56835803 

https://www.cnet.com/.../this-robot-will-give-you-a-new.../