Computers that know when you're angry
" Let's see a show of hands: how many of you have ever kicked, punched, shaken, thrown, or cursed your computer? How many have wanted to? Interesting. You can put your hands down now.
Using computers can be frustrating; there is just no feeling that can compare with a blue screen of death at one in the morning while you were working on that (unsaved) presentation. Computers are incredible devices for receiving and interpreting certain types of human sounds and gestures, but until now they have proved as insensitive as a husband watching a playoff game to the emotions of those they know best.
Enter the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany (the same folks who brought us the MP3 compression format). Scientists at their facility in Rostock have been working on ways to interpret and react to a computer user's emotions, especially the aggression and frustration that build up in users who know exactly what they want to accomplish but cannot get their computers to do the job. The system has two components: a camera and a glove. The camera watches a PC's user for outward signs of emotion, such as frowning or certain postures. But many indicators for motion are internal and invisible to the camera's eye, which is where the glove comes in. Christian Peter, one of the project's researchers, has developed a glove fitted with sensors that record a person's heartbeat, blood pressure, and body temperature, all of which can give valuable clues into that person's state of mind.
The goal of the project at this time is simply to develop an accurate system for gauging user emotions, but the real benefit of such technology will be seen when computers are smart enough to act on the information and to head off computer-related aggression before it starts. Of course, it's entirely possible that a poor implementation of this idea (think Clippy) could actually increase user frustration, so caution is in order. Those who want to get hands-on with the technology can see a demonstration during CeBIT 2006 in Hanover, while the rest of us can simply get back to calling our computers vile names ..."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060119-6010.html
Using computers can be frustrating; there is just no feeling that can compare with a blue screen of death at one in the morning while you were working on that (unsaved) presentation. Computers are incredible devices for receiving and interpreting certain types of human sounds and gestures, but until now they have proved as insensitive as a husband watching a playoff game to the emotions of those they know best.
Enter the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany (the same folks who brought us the MP3 compression format). Scientists at their facility in Rostock have been working on ways to interpret and react to a computer user's emotions, especially the aggression and frustration that build up in users who know exactly what they want to accomplish but cannot get their computers to do the job. The system has two components: a camera and a glove. The camera watches a PC's user for outward signs of emotion, such as frowning or certain postures. But many indicators for motion are internal and invisible to the camera's eye, which is where the glove comes in. Christian Peter, one of the project's researchers, has developed a glove fitted with sensors that record a person's heartbeat, blood pressure, and body temperature, all of which can give valuable clues into that person's state of mind.
The goal of the project at this time is simply to develop an accurate system for gauging user emotions, but the real benefit of such technology will be seen when computers are smart enough to act on the information and to head off computer-related aggression before it starts. Of course, it's entirely possible that a poor implementation of this idea (think Clippy) could actually increase user frustration, so caution is in order. Those who want to get hands-on with the technology can see a demonstration during CeBIT 2006 in Hanover, while the rest of us can simply get back to calling our computers vile names ..."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060119-6010.html
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