Reality is fast catching up with fiction. Snow White’s mirror now has a real-world counterpart in the form of TRI-M, an intelligent mirror that delivers information to end users. And its creator, Trinax Pte Ltd, is riding the technological breakthrough to charge ahead in the growing out-of-home (OOH) media and advertising industry.

Trinax was formed in 2011 by three army buddies who were brought together by a fondness for smart home technologies and a keen interest in research and development.

It all started when Mr Joel Goh, an Information Technology graduate, developed an iPhone-controlled system for watering his plants. The technology could even read the weather forecast through the National Environment Agency’s web site and water the plants only when needed.

More innovations followed as Mr Goh was joined by Mr Albin Yeo and Mr Zack Lim, and later by Mr Harry Phoon. The team went on to develop similar technologies such as iPhone-controlled air conditioning and lighting systems, and its most exciting creation to date – the smart mirror TRI-M.

Trinax’s flagship product, TRI-M offers a brand new space for the delivery of content to consumers. “In the OOH and advertising industry, there are hardly any digital alternatives to LCD and LED,” said Mr Goh, who is the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “In addition, it is a challenge to increase the number of media platforms due to space saturation.”

LCD and LED screens, for example, are usually an additional element in an environment and there is a limit on the number of screens that can be installed while meeting aesthetic requirements. “With TRI-M, we enable media companies to transform existing space into an advertising space.”

According to Mr Goh, the mirror is a compelling advertising platform. People are naturally drawn to a mirror, and it is something that they need to use, he said.

Doubling up as a reflective surface and an advertising platform, TRI-M can display images, animation and other forms of content uploaded through the cloud.  The mirror also comes with a powerful suite of software, such as a virtual dressing application that allows a reflection in the mirror to be overlayed with virtual clothes, enabling the user to envisage what he or she would look like with a particular piece of clothing without actually having to try it on.

Another example is Dual-state Advertising technology, where viewers get to see variations of an advertisement based on their viewing distance and movement. For example, with TRI-M, viewers may see a Coca Cola bottle when they are some distance away from the mirror but as they get closer, they see themselves with the bottle at their side. These capabilities have been well received by retailers, property developers and media companies, said Mr Goh. “We believe that this creates a higher recall and visibility rate because it conforms to common consumer behaviour.”

Trinax has also been gaining traction in China, where it is involved in the OOH and advertising industry in key cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. This has come about through partnerships formed when the company took part in the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore’s (IDA) iSTART programme in China last year. iSTART is a multi-pronged approach to help local start-ups expand and capture new markets beyond Singapore.

According to Mr Goh, the main reason for participating in iSTART was to understand the market better by building long-term relationships. “We strongly believe in gaining in-depth understanding through time and trusted people,” he said.

For Trinax, the highlights of the iSTART programme included the opportunity to meet up with relevant and key players in the market, present its business case to these people, and engage in one-to-one discussions facilitated by IDA. “As a small company, it was the understanding of the business dynamics and culture that was most helpful to us because we believe that such an understanding is fundamental to building a business anywhere,” said Mr Goh.

Through iSTART, Trinax established two partnerships in China, leveraging its R&D capabilities to participate as a technology provider in various projects. In the coming year, the company will continue to strengthen its presence in China and focus on establishing itself in Southeast Asian markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, in addition to Singapore.

It has also tapped on its growing portfolio of technologies to make deeper inroads into the media business with the setting up of two media subsidiaries – Motive Media in Singapore and TRX Media in Malaysia.

Motive Media delivers advertising in the context of the night leisure and entertainment scene, connecting brand owners with consumers using a suite of media technologies which includes the TRI-M.

TRX Media provides advertising platforms in key locations in Johor Bahru, for example, at the customs checkpoint, giving advertisers exposure to an average of 8 million visitors and close to 1 million vehicles which cross between Malaysia and Singapore every month.

The aim of these media subsidiaries is to make use of Trinax’s technologies to gain access to quality advertising space, said Mr Goh.