Google Glass App can Recognise Emotions
- Monday, September 1st, 2014
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The Fraunhofer Societys integrated circuits research institute, IIS, has created a Google Glass app capable of detecting emotions.
The app, called the SHORE Human Emotion Detector, uses a massive, anonymised database of different facial expressions to identify a persons mood, as well as giving information on age and gender. However, the device doesnt use facial recognition to determine identity, and none of the images ever leave the device, in the hopes of avoiding the criticism earlier facial analysis apps have drawn.
The Institute hopes the technology can be used as a communication aid for people with disorders such as autism, many of whom have difficulty interpreting emotions through facial expressions. While it currently uses a visual overlay, the software could also benefit the visually impaired by delivering supplementary audio information about people in their surroundings. The app also has the potential to have a huge impact in market research analysis by monitoring reactions to products and content.
SHORE, which stands for “sophisticated high-speed object recognition engine” is the result of years of R&D work in intelligent systems which allow the technology to work in real-time. Because of the high degree of optimisation, the app can be adapted to nearly any platform and operating system, especially mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.