Slashdot Mirror
Researchers Aim To "Read Minds" of PC Users
hhavensteincw writes "Scientists at Tufts University are researching the use of light aimed at the forehead to measure the stress, work overload, or distraction a computer user may be feeling, as a way to adjust the UI to adapt to a user's emotional state. The research combines biomedical engineering and machine learning to adjust the UI. The project, which requires users to wear a futuristic head band, uses light to measure the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain that signals a user's rising stress levels typically associated with increasingly difficult tasks."
I wonder how a resident daemon would interpret the user's reaction after typing "rm -rf /" instead of "rm -rf ./"
How would it adjust the UI to fit his mood? Perhaps a soothing blue would be in order.
Raise of my temperature means I'm wanking off at porn.... No surprise to me ;-)
... welcome our mind-reading, futuristic-headband-enforcing UI-adjusting overlords!
Now my boss and work colleagues will know whether or not to approach me, by looking at the colour of my screen first!
Aha. I always wondered what HAL's light was for...
"Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over."
If my computer "adjusts" its UI the way HAL did, I'm gonna kick it's ass...
Use 'slashdot stuff' in the subject line in any email you send me if you want to get past the spam filter.
God, there are so many stories about this kind of tech. But you know, its not a very useful interface unless it has the right software to communicate with it--Like intelligent agents that show their own emotion, interacting with yours. I mean, does reading my physiology and figuring out that i'm stressed going to make the web page load faster?
Slartibartfast:"Is that your robot?"
Marvin:"No, I'm mine."
If they make it possible to make interface work better if I am stressed, I will have only one question - why not turn the "stressed" option on by default?
I simply don't get it, if they think they can make programs work safer/faster/better, why can't they do this without the need for me to be stressed.
.. what would you use this for?
,at any give time can know the stress level of the user. On a scale from 1 to 11.
...
Lets say that you application
How would you want an application that you use or develop to changes it workings depending on this?
There's an example of workload sharing in TFA, but really, there's a fine line between "this person is stressed and working well with that", and "this person is overstressed, and we better share the load a bit".
And for everyday use... "You seem stressed - I'll delay all your incoming mails (including the one you are stressed over not having arrived yet)"
I just don't think our computers are intelligent enough right now to use this information to anything useful...
TC - My Photos..
1. You're late for a presentation
2. You fire up PowerPoint in a desperate attempt to make some crucial changes to keep your potential customers happy
3. Your computer sees that you're stressed... which it considers to be unhealthy
4. Then Clippy pops up and says 'I can't do that Dave'!
As stress levels rise, I want the computer to get out of my way as much as possible, not have Clippy pop up saying, "It seems you're trying to accomplish a difficult task. Do you want me to mess it up for you?"
Also, if there's a way the computer can make my life easier, it should do that already rather than wait until I'm stressed out.
You are getting stressed. Cancel or Allow?
Usage: km/h for speed (kilometers per hour); kph for very slow impulses (kilopond hours).
which requires users to wear a futuristic head band
This is one of those few times when I find myself wishing for more female representation. For some reason, male geeks just don't seem to understand the publics fashion sense. Futuristic headband=dork headgear. The look is 'more' important than the functionality when it comes to getting anything which needs to be worn out the door. And if it means a headband, it's never going to get into public use.
Everything will be taken away from you.
Why would they need the UI to adjust? Wouldn't their efforts be better spent making a UI that was as little stress inducing as possible and have it run that way full time?
What if...
1. You're stressed about having to learn a new interface
2. The interface changes
3. See #1
I can start effectively marketing MRML (Mind-Reading Markup Language).
I'm Peggy.