Magic Mirror

The Magic Mirror is an open source project created by Michael Teeuw.
Here was my first version, from many years ago.

Why I built it

I built the Magic Mirror because the object itself fascinated me.

At the time, I had never really worked with wood, but I have always enjoyed making things with my hands. I wanted to see whether I could take something that existed mostly as an idea and turn it into a finished object I would actually be proud to keep in my home.

It became part electronics project, part software project, and part experiment in craftsmanship.

Between the real and virtual worlds

I built it while I was working at Aldebaran Robotics, at a time when I was constantly thinking about the boundary between the physical and the digital.

The robots I worked with existed in both worlds at once. They were physical objects, but their personality, usefulness, and behaviour came from software.

The mirror felt similar.

At first glance, it was still just a mirror. But behind the glass lived a quiet digital layer: the weather, my agenda, the news, and the small pieces of information I wanted available without having to reach for a phone or open a computer.

Designing for restraint

The project was also an opportunity to experiment with minimalism.

The challenge was not to display as much information as possible. It was to decide what deserved to be there, how visible it should be, and when the interface should disappear completely.

The mirror had to remain useful without becoming distracting.

It also became a small way to stay connected with family. The weather module could show what conditions were like where they lived, while the agenda and news made the mirror practical in everyday life.

More than anything, it was a project about curiosity: learning a new material, building something physical from scratch, and exploring once again how software can quietly change the way we interact with an ordinary object.