Scientists Propose App That Detects Emotions Based On Walking Style

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.

Comments

I for one welcome our ankle bracelet masters

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> 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.

Silly Walks To Throw Off The Data

[Jason Levine]

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.

Healthy body, healthy mind

[PopeRatzo]

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...