Non-Reversing Mirror A Great Tool In Plastic Surgery, Experts Say

If you look at yourself in the mirror, your face will always will always be in reverse. However, a mathematics professor by the name of Dr. R. Andrew Hicks from Drexel University has the ability to show your real un-reversed face in its image. It’s now being displayed in an art exhibition in New York City.

This unusual mirror gained a national attention in the summer of 2012. One of its contemporaries which were a driver’s side mirror that gets rid of blind spots on minimal distortions was given U.S. patent. There are other mirrors such as this one but it’s done by placing a couple of mirrors on certain angles so you can see a reflection of a reflection. But this new mirror from Hicks is quite different because it’s single smooth curved piece of glass showing a non-reversed image.

Hicks was inspired by a work in an online research. Then, together with Drexel, they loaned the mirror for a group of artworks called “P-R-O-C-E-S-S-E-S.”  “The mirror specifically relates to this particular grouping of work because it is about process. I wanted to know more about what leads someone to make a non-reversing mirror,” says an expert.

Hicks found a pleasing time creating mirrors as a hobby. He is first and foremost an enthusiast in electronics tinkering, formal education in mathematics and postdoctoral work in computer science. Then he continued his work as a professor in Drexel’s College of Arts and Sciences. He started his mathematical manipulations of reflective surfaces when he was developing vision control mechanisms for soccer-playing robots. Then, he made algorithms to work on the angles of curved mirror surfaces to control the distortion in the reflection.

“I see some similarities to the work that I do and the work that Andrew does, in terms of following what interests you and creating something new.” Other experts also say. More than a work of art, Hicks thinks of his non-reversing mirror as a novelty item and he looks forward for its practical applications. “I always thought it would make a great toy,” Hicks said.

“I don’t know about this but I am really interested of its possible use in the medical field especially in plastic surgery since self-image is such an important thing when it comes to beauty,” says Dr. Bradley Hubbard from http://bradleyhubbardmd.com/. “I just hope they’ll really work on it quickly.”

Sometimes, a work of art can make a tremendous use in the practical world. Let’s just wait and see until the right time comes.