Soon, ‘emotional’ satnavs that read your mind and know how you feel!

LONDON - Cambridge University researchers are working on computer systems that sense your mood and react accordingly.

Prof Peter Robinson, head of emotional robotics, believes one application could be navigational systems in cars that would be smart enough to know when they have upset the driver and react accordingly.

“I love gadgets like GPS satellite navigation systems but I hate the fact they are so difficult to use, I think they were designed by sadists,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

“The problem is computers don’t react to how I feel - if I’m pleased or annoyed they just ignore me. We’re building emotionally intelligent computers that can read my mind and know how I feel,” he added.

“Computers are really good at understanding what someone is typing or saying. But they need to understand not just what I’m saying, but how I’m saying it.”

How will it work? The system will track your facial expression, hand gestures and even the tone of a user’s voice using sensors. And correspondingly, adjust its behaviour accordingly to ease motoring stress.

“You could devise a system which would see how a driver was feeling at the time and concentrating. If a driver was stressed it could stop a mobile phone from ringing, turn the radio off and even stop giving instructions until the driver had recovered his composure,” said Robinson. (ANI)