Crave.cnet.com has an article about a new phone from Panasonic (the “P702iD“) that includes visualizations (in the form of colour and image changes) of emotional state through voice analysis with something called…
‘Feel Talk’. The ‘Feel Talk’ function offers lets users express emotions with different lighting patterns and animations and analyzes voice tone during conversations.
The P702iD, has offers visualizations in…
“128 gradational LED light”… and “enables users to enjoy 10 variations of illumination patterns in brightness and colors.”
If these phones were to become pervasive, what would be the impact of broadcasting your emotional state to others? On the negative side, I can envision phones with the emotion visualization feature accidentally left on spoiling business deals, or breaking up marriages. And on the positive side, perhaps such a device could assist those who have trouble communicating their emotions to others. Another addition to the multitude of tools aimed at enhancing social communication.
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