Some of the most cringe-worthy selfies out there are the ones taken in front of a mirror, those awkward angles and head tilts are enough to make you press ‘unfollow’ anywhere  

Now, digital agency iStrategyLabs, has developed a selfie-taking mirror that avoids the usual graceless arm stretch we've all become accustomed to in the form of a modified Ikea medicine cabinet utilising facial-recognition software. Powered by a Mac mini that's linked to a webcam, users can activate the device by simply standing on a custom vinyl graphic and smiling. This causes illumination from a hidden LED to initiate a flash mechanism within one and a half seconds, sending the information to an Arduino board before the final image is ‘self-tweeted’ to Twitter.

Chief Marketing Officer DJ Saul claims the idea was brought about to demonstrate the possibilities that exist when hardware, software and a great idea are combined. The device is not currently available for purchase, but it is sparking ideas of becoming a mirror version of the popular bar photo-booth.

There have been other attempts at rethinking the selfie of late. One was instigated by online clothes retailer Zappos, Instagram Stylist encouraged users to post selfies with a special hashtag in order to get instant, professional image advice, while Selfie City put the entire phenomena under the lens to examine the vanity-snap in a more in-depth, sociological fashion.