Amazon says it’s creating a wrist device that will be able to read its users’ emotions, and could also advise its wearer on how to effectively interact with people.
The wearable will work in sync with an app, and will have microphones that can “discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice,” a source told Bloomberg.
In a somewhat Black Mirror turn: the technology behind the device could also tell its user how to interact with people more effectively by giving the user advice and tips.
Amazon’s Lab 126 hardware division and the Alexa voice software team are collaborating on the device.
The emotion-sensing device will give Amazon’s Alexa access to a new facet of user knowledge.
There has been research conducted that shows the way people speak contains a lot of information, according to a Verge article. Researchers say it is not easy to fake a voice. For instance, machine learning has the ability to differentiate between people with anxiety, and people without it, once it gets a sample of both.
Amazon did not tell Bloomberg how far along the progress of the device is, and if it will ever become a commercial project.
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