![\"Manicured](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/00235ee0-614.jpg\"\/)
\nSome of the nail designs the machine offered (Lara Owen\/PA)<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence has written novels, driven cars, painted portraits \u2013 so perhaps it was only a matter of time before it started doing nails.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the idea behind Umia, billed as the world\u2019s first “AI manicure machine”. Not yet available in Ireland, this machine is making its UK debut during British Beauty Week (October 18-26).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an interesting nod to the growing overlap between technology and beauty \u2013 and a reminder that AI isn\u2019t just reshaping how we work but how we care for ourselves.<\/p>\n
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At first glance, it looks more like a dystopian espresso maker than a beauty device: a matte white box small enough to sit on a desk, with a neat slot for a single finger.<\/p>\n
The process, I\u2019m told, takes exactly 100 seconds per nail, regardless of whether you choose a plain colour or an intricate design.<\/p>\n
Still, the claim of an “AI manicure” had me sceptical. Was this really artificial intelligence, or just an advanced printer with a clever marketing twist?<\/p>\n
The process<\/b><\/p>\n
When I arrived, I was greeted by Umia\u2019s representative, Audrey Dong, who explained that the device offers only the painting element of a manicure \u2013 not the filing, shaping or cuticle care that nail technicians perform.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a gel manicure,” said Dong, “so it will last around 10 to 14 days.<\/p>\n
“You place your finger inside and the machine\u2019s camera scans your nail to understand its size, curvature and location \u2013 we call it your \u2018nail DNA\u2019.<\/p>\n
“Then it applies three coats \u2013 base, colour and top \u2013 and cures them as it goes. When your hand comes out, it\u2019s shiny and dry.”<\/p>\n
Sure enough, as the machine whirred to life, I slipped my finger into the box and a small camera flashed.<\/p>\n
A thin mist of polish was sprayed across my nail in layers so fine I couldn\u2019t feel a thing. The only sensation came from the soft warmth of the UV light that cured the gel, which wasn\u2019t uncomfortable \u2013 in fact, it hardly felt like it was doing anything.<\/p>\n
True to its word, each nail took 100 seconds. That included the scanning, painting and curing. By the time I\u2019d finished all ten, I had a full gel manicure in under 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
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The result<\/b><\/p>\n
The finish was glossy and surprisingly resilient \u2013 though not flawless.<\/p>\n
Some of the more intricate designs were a little blurred around the edges, and on a couple of nails the polish missed slightly, leaving a fine mist on my skin.<\/p>\n
But overall, it was neat, hardy, and certainly better than I\u2019d expected from a machine with no hands or eyes.<\/p>\n
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That said, it\u2019s not about to replace your local nail bar. Umia doesn\u2019t handle any of the preparatory steps, and you need to arrive with clean, prepped nails.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re not replacing technicians,” Dong said. “We\u2019re offering something faster and more accessible.”<\/p>\n
Dong sees the future of Umia machines not in nail salons but in everyday places: “hair salons, coffee shops, spas, even airports,” she said, “because it only takes about 20 minutes for a full hand, you could use it while you wait for your coffee or your flight.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019ll also cost significantly less than a regular manicure \u2013 probably less than half the price.”<\/p>\n
\nSome of the nail designs the machine offered (Lara Owen\/PA)<\/p>\n
The tech behind the polish<\/b><\/p>\n
But the question of whether this was really \u2018AI\u2019 or just a high-tech printer still stood.<\/p>\n
For that, I spoke with Modi Liu, Umia\u2019s co-founder, who was quick to clarify that the machine doesn\u2019t use the kind of large language models that power systems like ChatGPT or Gemini.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s no language processing or text-based AI,” Liu explains, “what we use is a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deep learning model, built on more than 120,000 nail data points.”<\/p>\n
This AI model, Liu said, allows Umia to recognise each nail\u2019s width, length, curvature and contours, and to distinguish between nail, cuticle and skin.<\/p>\n
“Every nail is unique,” she adds, “the AI ensures the design fits perfectly to your shape. That\u2019s what makes it intelligent rather than just mechanical.”<\/p>\n
The system also features what Umia calls an “Adaptive Optimisation Algorithm”, meaning it learns from each manicure it performs.<\/p>\n
After every session, it collects feedback data \u2013 things like delivery accuracy and design alignment \u2013 and uses that information to improve future results. In theory, each coat it paints brings it one step closer to perfection.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Liu said Umia\u2019s forthcoming app will introduce Reinforcement Learning \u2013 a branch of AI that allows the system to learn from user behaviour and preferences.<\/p>\n
“Over time,” she says, “it will recommend designs based on what you like \u2013 colours, patterns, styles. Every interaction helps it learn more about your taste.”<\/p>\n
![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/00235edf-614.jpg\"\/)
\nThe results of the world’s first ‘AI manicure’ (Lara Owen\/PA)<\/p>\n
The verdict<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s a fascinating piece of technology and undeniably fun to watch in action. There\u2019s something oddly mesmerising about seeing a machine delicately spray your nails with precision in near silence.<\/p>\n
While the results aren\u2019t perfect, they are more than passable for a quick, low-effort manicure.<\/p>\n
But for now, it remains more of a novelty than a replacement. A salon visit still offers the care, precision and artistry that machines haven\u2019t quite mastered \u2013 not to mention the human connection.<\/p>\n
Where Umia succeeds is in its potential: a portable, chemical-safe, quick-drying manicure that could fit neatly into the rhythm of modern life \u2013 something to do while you\u2019re buying time in an airport, hair salon or cafe.<\/p>\n
And while I\u2019m still not entirely convinced that spraying gel onto nails counts as “artificial intelligence”, there\u2019s no denying it\u2019s an intriguing glimpse into the future of beauty tech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artificial intelligence has written novels, driven cars, painted portraits \u2013 so perhaps it was only a matter of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,13,14,6,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-143294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-featured-news","11":"tag-featurednews","12":"tag-headlines","13":"tag-latest-news","14":"tag-latestnews","15":"tag-main-news","16":"tag-mainnews","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-top-stories","19":"tag-topstories","20":"tag-world","21":"tag-world-news","22":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115430661000324394","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}