It is part of human nature to conceal what we really feel for fear of judgement and ridicule. Sometimes, we feel that timing is not right, so instead of being angry, we mask our feelings with grins on our faces. However, a technology that's underway will change all of this. Dr. Daniel McDuff has been working on making computers recognize how one truly feels not just by recognizing facial expressions, but by delving on what the person is actually thinking.
BBC reports that Dr. McDuff has been working on emotion-reading computers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab. This technology could lead to the development of devices that have emotional intelligence. It is a great possibility that everyday objects may now have the ability to empathise with our moods. Perhaps a mirror that knows how you feel about the way you look or a fridge that can offer you food based on your cravings.
By using a webcam, the system recognizes a range of different facial movements from frowning to smiling. Currently, the system has categorized the expressions into seven common emotional states; sadness, amusement, surprise, fear, joy, disgust and contempt.
The computer has a massive database of four million videos in various emotional states from volunteers and paid-for market researchers. The algorithms are said to be updated always and they are tested against real world scenarios.
Dr. McDuff's next plan is to integrate voice analysis and other measures of physical well being such as heart rate and hand gestures.
More so, the technology recognizes that emotional responses vary based on gender, age, and demographics.
"In collectivist cultures where your family group is more important, people are most expressive in these small groups, whereas in more individualistic cultures like Western Europe the emphasis is more about building relationships with strangers and people tend to be more positive around people who they are less familiar with," Dr. McDuff told the BBC.
More so, the computer is able to recognize when people mask their feelings.
"If they are frustrated they will often smile but that smile is different from when someone is genuinely amused," he said.
As of the moment, he admits that the technology is at its toddler stages and that they could never create a computer that can fully interpret human emotions. He hopes that this technology can help communication with autistic children. It was his main motivation to develop the technology. Additionally, he hopes that this could also be useful to teachers to aid them in assessing students' level of learning; whether or not the student finds the subject difficult or boring.
Now that a computer that knows our feelings is underway, would you be brave enough to face your true feelings? Do you think this technology will have a positive impact to the society? Let us know your thoughts by leaving your comments below.