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Cassie: Your Mirror, Your Assistant

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the smartest of them all?

Reflecting on Market Realities

Our journey with Cassie reached a critical juncture. With the world's economy crashed by COVID-19, we realized that our smart mirror, though innovative, was a luxury item in a time of uncertainty. We made the tough decision to halt the project due to the lack of immediate market fit. Yet, amidst this pause, we remained hopeful about Cassie's future. Who knows, maybe in a few years, Cassie will become a household name, not just a marvel discussed online. We dream of a day when you have Cassie in your own home, listening to her recounting this very story.

Evolving Cassie for the Future

The completion of our project marked not an end, but the beginning of a new, ambitious phase. We recognized Cassie's potential to transform from a college-level project into a groundbreaking startup. The original version, running on a single Raspberry Pi, was impressive but not scalable for widespread use. To bring Cassie to a larger audience, we had to make changes, some significant changes. Our focus shifted to developing a robust architecture, designed to offload compute-heavy tasks away from the device.

Presenting Cassie to the World

The culmination of our journey with Cassie finally arrived. It was the moment we unveiled our sweat and efforts to the world. We meticulously gathered every piece of our work, documenting each step of our journey with Cassie, and prepared to showcase it to our faculty. The day was filled with a mix of nervous anticipation and excitement. As we presented, every query from the faculty was met with thorough explanations, reflecting our deep understanding and connection to the project. We didn't just answer their questions; we narrated the story of Cassie, infusing our presentation with the passion that had driven us. When we concluded, it wasn't just the solid 'A's that we celebrated; it was the recognition and validation of our sleepless nights. Walking away from that presentation, we knew that Cassie was no longer just our project – she was a story brought to life

Diving into Development

With our initial goals outlined, we dived headfirst into uncharted waters. It was a period of learning, as we distributed the workload among ourselves, each taking on aspects of the project that were both new and challenging. None of us had a clear roadmap or a set of instructions. We immersed ourselves in learning everything from scratch – mastering Machine Learning principles, unraveling the complexities of Raspberry Pi, managing code, and honing our presentation skills. Cassie was becoming more than just a concept; she was slowly turning into a reality.

Brainstorming and Project Selection

Right after our semesters, while others were unwinding during their summer break, my team and I were fueling our passion for innovation. We set ourselves an ambitious goal: "to create the best goddamn project our university had ever seen". Our brainstorming sessions were nothing short of extraordinary. We explored a myriad of wild ideas – from building a humanoid robot to developing a phone that integrates into your hand, an idea we thought of before it even hit the patent discussions. We even toyed with the notion of autonomous vehicles and sensors to decode the secret communications of plants and animals. These ideas, though wildly ambitious for a trio of undergrads, set the stage for our creativity. In the end, amidst this storm of ideas, we found our calling in building a Smart Mirror. This wasn't just any mirror; it was to be Cassie – a mirror that listens to you, that understands you.

Forming the Dream Team

The genesis of our journey began in October 2018. Mithil Jain, Preet Thakkar, and I came together, not just as classmates but as visionaries ready to embark on an extraordinary venture. We were united by a shared passion for pushing the boundaries of technology. This was the start of something more than a project; it was the beginning of a bond that would see us through the highs and lows of creating something revolutionary.