Robot Hair Untangling

This got some rare general press, since it deals with a real concern/chore in the home.  And I do have a general 'hair care' link below from my Consumer package company goods days.    Perhaps they want to pick this up, but I am assuming the robot required is expensive. 

Untangle Your Hair With Help From Robots

MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

Rachel Gordon, May 3, 2021

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Harvard University's Soft Math Lab teamed up to develop a robotic arm setup that can comb tangled hair. "RoboWig" features a sensorized soft brush equipped with a camera to assess curliness, so the system can adapt to the degree of hair tangling it encounters. CSAIL's Josie Hughes said, "By developing a model of tangled fibers, we understand from a model-based perspective how hairs must be entangled: starting from the bottom and slowly working the way up to prevent 'jamming' of the fibers." Tests on wigs of various hair styles and hair types helped determine appropriate brushing lengths, taking into consideration the number of entanglements and pain levels.

Amazon Opens a Hair Salon

 Intriguing leverage of expertise.  Also note 'point and learn' concept.  Amazon continues to consider other tech links to improved consumer interaction.

Why did Amazon open a hair salon?  in Retailwire   by Tom Ryan  with further expert comment

Amazon.com has opened a hair salon in its latest bricks-and-mortar experiment. The London location promises to allow the online giant to test new technologies, expand its B2B business with haircare professionals and potentially explore the haircutting opportunity.

Called Amazon Salon, the two-story, 1,500-square-foot location offers entertainment streaming on Amazon Fire tablets at each styling station as well as augmented reality hair consultations that lets individuals imagine a hair color before the dye is made up.

Amazon is testing a “point and learn” technology that allows customers to point at an item on a shelf and display product information on a screen mounted behind. The customer can then scan a QR code to order an item for home delivery.

Amazon Salon could be a showroom for technology bound for other salons. Just Walk Out technology was piloted at Amazon’s own Go convenience stores before being licensed to others.  ... " 

Chatbot Concierge for your Hair

Not far different from some of our own attempts to provide a concierge style link that could help both the consumer and the brand.   An advisory

What a Chatbot Can Teach You -- and Unilever -- About Hair    By Jack Neff

 " .... THE IDEA
Enter the Hair Concierge, a chatbot launched on Facebook Messenger in November that uses artificial intelligence to answer women's questions about how to solve hair problems, and links them to Nexxus products they can buy direct online within the bot. The virtual Hair Concierge spawned more than 450,000 messages, around eight per conversation, during January alone, Ms. Grigoriou said. And that comes just from influencers, social sharing and word of mouth, before the brand has put any conventional paid media support behind the effort, which was led by new digital agency Cubocc.

 It's a new idea with roots deep in Nexxus' heritage. From Mr. Redding's day on, the brand was about using proteins found in nature to improve hair. Things like heat and ultraviolet radiation exposure deplete those proteins, leading to a range of hair problems, such as dullness, frizz and split ends. "We can actually map the DNA of the hair, identifying which ingredients can deliver the best results for each problem," she said. The Hair Concierge is part of a broader digital revamp for Nexxus, which aims to offer "mass customization" by matching existing products to women's stated needs. The effort also includes a redesign of Nexxus.com to align with how women search online and a series of 30-second-or-shorter, mobile-optimized videos matching Nexxus products to various hairstyles or problems.  ... " 

L'Oreal and Google Glass

In Engadget:   Reminds me of work done a number of times with virtual makeover.   And related work directing complex maintenance tasks.  " ... The hair care giant (and purveyor of giant hair) just announced Matrix Class for Glass, which gives clients and beauty school students a stylists-eye view of your head. The three-part program includes a video series of in-depth beauty tutorials shot with Google's wearable; Matrix Eye for Style, an "exclusive" salon experience provided by George Papanikolas, who will record sessions with the headset; and a series of lessons for beauty professionals given by be-Glassed hair care superstars. ... " 

Pantene's Twitter Program

An interview about what they are calling Pantene's Powerful  Oscars Twitter Program.  Had missed the details of this, but the article is a good case study of the use of Twitter social in CPG event related campaigns.   " ... Pantene’s #WantThatHair Twitter program for the Oscars in February 2013 took the kind of unplanned twist that only an agile marketing team can be ready for, according to Kevin Crociata, marketing director of haircare, North America, and Rotha Penn, communications manager, US haircare, for the Procter & Gamble brand. Crociata and Rotha spoke to eMarketer’s Danielle Drolet about the real-time marketing effort for Pantene undertaken during the awards show. ... "