Republic of Mari El stand: “Smart Mirror” AR installation

The “Smart Mirror” AR installation stood on the Republic of Mari El stand at Russia Expo, VDNKh — an interactive object built to let visitors try on the region's culture rather than just look at it.

A visitor stepped up to the mirror, and face recognition let them virtually try on national jewellery and headwear — Mari El's traditional dress rendered on their own reflection in real time.

HALO built the object end to end: engineering, fabrication of the physical mirror, the recognition software, the AR content itself, and installation and commissioning on site. Hardware, software and content all came out of one team — no handoff between a construction contractor and a content studio.

The installation had a second life. After the forum closed, the Smart Mirror moved to the National Museum of the Republic of Mari El and kept running there as part of the permanent collection — a stand object built for one event that outlasted it.

Trying on a national costume in AR is a way to show a region's culture through personal experience: a visitor sees the headwear on themselves, not behind glass, and remembers it that way.