Affectiva Introduces Wearable Sensor that Measures Human Emotion

Affectiva has launched the Q Sensor version 1.0 which is a wearable emotion sensing device.

The new sensor is capable of quantifying human emotions such as fear, excitement, stress, boredom etc. Since the launch of the pre-release version of the Q Sensor in November 2010, it has assisted many market research and clinical research programs to successfully gather data on human emotion.

The electrodermal activity such as temperature and motion can be determined by the Q Sensor. This activity is also called as galvanic skin response (GSR). The sensor provides biomarkers that do not require a laboratory set up. The core technology in the sensor was designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and validation was done by comparing the data obtained from the sensor with the data from FDA-approved electrodermal sensors that were fixed to fingertips. The sensor has a tough case and comes with a 24 h battery life. It comes in the form of a wrist watch and can store data for up to three months. A new sensor version, measuring 1.5”, can be integrated into a soft band that can be fastened on children; it can be used on areas other than the wrist.

Lucy Jane Miller, the Director of Star Center, stated that the center is involved in research programs on autism, attention deficit disorders and other neurodevelopmental conditions. She claims that using the Q sensor, her team was able to monitor the children and therapists during treatment and visualise their reactions without any lab set up.

Jeff Huffman, who is a physician in the psychiatry and medicine division at Massachusetts General Hospital, explained that the easily wearable form of the sensor gave relief to the patients who otherwise had to be wired to bulky instruments.