Skip to main content

See what your skin is hiding with Skintuition visualization technology

skintuition skin secrets pr pr16 029 mainimag v0 10
Image used with permission by copyright holder
It’s the largest organ in our body, and it also houses the most secrets. But now, new technology from Cambridge Consultants wants to unlock some of the mysteries hidden by our skin. Meet Skintuition, described as a “non-invasive, non-contact way of capturing, understanding, and visualizing the secrets of our skin.” This, the product design and development firm says, ought to help “enable a new generation of truly personalized care products.”

While it may seem high tech, Skintuition requires little more than readily available cameras, like those found on common smartphones. By combining these imaging devices with a ring of LEDs, Skintuition produces supercharged images of your skin’s surface. In essence, the technology shows you an image with more color than would appear in a normal photo, which claims to provide valuable insights into your skin’s health, condition, and dermatological status.

Recommended Videos

“Imagine if your bathroom mirror could pinpoint trends in how your skin pigmentation changes, encouraging you to adjust your personal care routine to better cater to what your skin needs at any given time,” said Ruth Thomson, head of consumer product development at Cambridge Consultants. “From monitoring for deeper changes in health to matching the perfect shade of foundation to your skin, the multispectral imaging we’ve developed provides countless ways to personalize the skincare experience.”

By providing you with data as to your skin’s oxygen saturation and melanin levels, Skintuition technology could, for example, alert you when you need to apply a higher level SPF sunscreen, or show you how your skin’s health has changed over time. And because Skintuition could theoretically be combined with existing products (like a mirror or your smartphone), this tech could be easily implemented.

“We’ve taken existing, inexpensive hardware components and found new and exciting ways to use them,” said Thomson. “At its core, Skintuition is simply an imaging solution that is able to expose substances that are invisible to the naked eye. By making it low cost, we’ve given it mass-market appeal — opening the door for this type of technology to apply its ‘intuition’ to not just skin care but nearly any other visualization use case.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The future of immersive VR? ‘Chemical haptics’ applied to your skin
A woman in a VR headset holding her hands out.

VR headsets are currently able to simulate realistic environments to trick your brain into thinking it's actually there. But researchers at the University of Chicago are going a step further by simulating physical sensations using chemicals applied to your skin.

The implementation seems basic, but the results are fascinating and could provide a way to make VR even more immersive.

Read more
Scary robot vacuum horror stories that’ll make your skin crawl for Halloween
scary robot vacuum halloween horror stories evil

You know how the story goes: There will come a time when our robot servants will rise up and take over the world, turning us humans into batteries for their use. We could fear for that day, but it’s not happening any time soon. That doesn't mean there's a lack of scary stories involving the robots that currently clean our homes.

Robot vacuums are no doubt marvelous servants for us humans, doing the trivial, dirty work so we don't have to. While they promise us the idea of saving previous time for other activities, they actually may have ulterior motives. Despite the advances we’ve seen that make them smarter, sometimes they show us that they still need some supervision after all!
Don’t rat out your friends
Ah, New York City. It’s a concrete jungle filled with apartments that are perfect homes for robot vacuums. But we know New York City is also (in)famous for other things, including rats. Have you seen pizza rat working diligently to bring a slice back home?

Read more
Here’s what I want to see in the next Ring Video Doorbell
Ring video doorbell leader

If any company is leading in the smart doorbell market, it's Ring. The company had a bit of a rough start due to privacy concerns, but has since doubled down on its efforts and emerged as one of the leading brands. Between the Video Doorbell, the Video Doorbell Pro 2, and all of the other options it has on the market, Ring has raised the bar for what customers expect. However, there are still features I would love to see in the next iteration of the Ring Video Doorbell.
4K video
There are a lot of reasons why most video doorbells top out at 1080p, with storage leading the charge. With limited storage capabilities on SD cards, it's hard to justify the amount of memory that 4K video takes, even if it does bring a big difference in clarity. It would still be great to see the option available for users. Perhaps the next Ring Video Doorbell could record at a lower resolution, such as 1080p or 1440p, but stream in 4K if users have sufficient Wi-Fi speed.

Although 4K may sometimes seem like a luxury, the higher-quality lenses provide more clarity in all conditions. The ability to make out finer details on the camera can make a huge difference. For example, if you're targeted by a porch pirate, 4K video can make it easier to read the logo or lettering on a shirt than if the video were capped at 1080p.
Full-color night vision
Full-color night vision is a growing feature in many security cameras, but it has yet to make its way into many smart doorbells. Full-color night vision provides many of the same benefits that 4K video does. It provides greater clarity and allows the viewer to make out finer details through the camera, whether you're watching a funny animal on your porch or keeping an eye out for package thieves.

Read more