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Scientists Propose App That Detects Emotions Based On Walking Style

Posted by timothy on from the cctv-plus-endless-storage-plus-microexpressions-plus-this dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Chinese researchers claim to be able to deduce a person's emotional state using accelerometer data from mobile devices attached to the wrist and ankle. The study recorded baseline data and then comparitive data after showing either disturbing or amusing videos to test subjects. The paper envisages the ultimate development of smartphone and wearable apps capable of providing systematic long-term and short-term data on someone's state of being, based mostly on the movement of the ankle whilst walking. They posit the usefulness of the information in medical applications, but do not address possible unsuitable uses, such as for the purposes of employment assessment or insurance premiums.

14 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. I for one welcome our ankle bracelet masters by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 3, Funny

    >> movement of the ankle whilst walking

    Great - I can't wait until we're all issued our "optional but wear it if you want a job" ankle bracelets.

  2. Silly Walks To Throw Off The Data by Jason+Levine · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wonder how the ankle device would cope with a silly walk. At the very least, the workplace would get more interesting as people don't walk from point A to point B in a normal manner.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  3. what arrogant fools by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

    "detecting" emotion! what a laugh and a lie, they are doing nothing of the sort. They are just guessing.

    1. Re:what arrogant fools by thedonger · · Score: 1

      "detecting" emotion! what a laugh and a lie, they are doing nothing of the sort. They are just guessing.

      Right? Chinese people don't have souls; how can they study and understand emotions?

      --
      Help fight poverty: Punch a poor person.
    2. Re:what arrogant fools by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      Right? Chinese people don't have souls; how can they study and understand emotions?

      This is you talking, not anyone else.

    3. Re:what arrogant fools by mark-t · · Score: 1

      It is a legitimate use of the word "detect" to say you have detected something when what you have really detected is a sufficient amount of evidence to support the conclusion that something is present, despite possibly never detecting that thing directly.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    4. Re:what arrogant fools by Sardaukar86 · · Score: 1

      As a ginger myself, I resemble that remark!

      --
      ..Mullah or Pope, Preacher or Poet, who was it wrote: "Give any one species too much rope and they'll fuck it up"?
    5. Re:what arrogant fools by jafiwam · · Score: 1

      You're mistaking Chinese people for Gingers. Ginger's don't have souls.

      Gingers have souls. They have one freckle for every soul they steal.

    6. Re:what arrogant fools by thedonger · · Score: 1

      That was a South Park joke (replacing Chinese with Japanese, which itself is an American joke, i.e., we can't tell them apart).

      --
      Help fight poverty: Punch a poor person.
  4. the tell-all mood bracelet by epine · · Score: 1

    but do not address possible unsuitable uses, such as for the purposes of employment assessment or insurance premiums

    When the day comes that such a thing is invented by sociologists there will surely be a scope-creep coda to the tune of "more research needed" within the vast sphere of human malfeasance.

    Just what we need is a technological literature brimming with amateur hand-wringing and armchair ethics. I'd just love to read what Shockley might have written about his invention in the last paragraph of the last page if given a greenish-yellow editorial light to paint the future.

    While we're at it, how about some moral footnotes from Fritz Haber?

    On 2 May 1915, following an argument with Haber, Clara Immerwahr committed suicide in their garden by shooting herself in the heart with his service revolver.

    A sad end, but a fine act of ethical commentary by the first woman to be awarded a doctorate in chemistry in Germany. To think what we might have learned if only she'd been wearing a mood bracelet.

  5. Tired but happy by Calydor · · Score: 1

    Just got a raise, but exhausted from pulling a 30 hour shift? Depressed and slouched.

    How accurate is this really going to be considering the multitude of reasons you could have for walking in one way or another? What about people with a bad knee who start walking strangely because the knee starts hurting?

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  6. Healthy body, healthy mind by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    Your gait may not be able to tell you anything about your emotional health, but it certainly can tell you something about how long you'll probably live.

    http://www.livescience.com/104...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  7. Silly walks? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Will it also detect silly enough walks that suffices the ministry of silly walks rigorous standards?

  8. The Gait Detector, near Cory Doctorow's prediction by D4C5CE · · Score: 1

    http://craphound.com/littlebro... comes as close as recommending how to hack them.