标题: The Laser Aura: a prosthesis for emotional expression [打印本页] 作者: 彬彬 时间: 2011-12-30 18:49 标题: The Laser Aura: a prosthesis for emotional expression 1 Introduction
We propose a wearable device capable of translating bio-sensed
data into cartoon-like graphics projected in the physical surrounding.
Such ’expressive Laser Aura’ (LA) may serve for biofeedback
purposes; but more interestingly, as the display extends past
the wearer’s personal space it could complement non-verbal social
communication by giving others an instant cue about a person’s
real inner state. In this preliminary work, we explore a proof-ofprinciple
scenario: the possibility of enhancing empathic behavior
at the working place, where people have little or no time to explicitly
communicate a need for help, or on the contrary a need for
isolation. The subject is sitting at the office desk; the LA (presently
non-wearable) is projected on a nearby wall or on the floor. It takes
the shape of an halo that changes its behavior as a function of the
subject stress level. (The LA is also capable of displaying icons
and text messages in an autonomous way, or as prompted by the
user.) To measure stress, we first tried the commercial ’Mind Flex’
head-worn device (combining simple EEG and EMG data). This
proved to be too much dependent on test subjects, so we opted for
a simpler strategy consisting on measuring physical restlessness by
fitting the chair with an accelerometer. The custom laser projector
unit measures about 20x20x10cm. The LA graphic output is
inspired from cartoon conventions, paranormal folklore and synesthetic
considerations. When the subject is relaxed, the halo is nearly
circular, uniform and smooth; restlessness disturbs the aura by introducing
dynamic spikes. This mapping seems very intuitive - in
our preliminary experiment, casual observers never failed to recognize
the intended meaning at first glance. When projected on the
floor (either from the back of the chair or, in the future, using a laser
projection belt [Wilde et al. 2010]), the LA may represent the limits
of the personal space. By enlarging it, the subject can claim personal
space and signify a need for isolation; on the contrary, while
shrinking (or fading or changing its color) the aura may indicate the
user readiness to engage in closer social interaction.
2 Technologically mediated Self
This research extends previous works in our lab on the technologically
mediated self, such as the Haptic Radar [Cassinelli et al.
2006] or the Light Arrays [Wilde et al. 2010]. Externalizing subtle
psycho-physiological states using simple visual cues may enhance
human-human interaction in situations where natural communication
channels are temporarily recruited in other tasks, or defective.
For instance, a LA could inform others, at a glance, about
e-mail: Alvaro Cassinelli@ipc.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp
a person’s ‘availability status’ - as currently done in online social
software (teaser image, right). Also, by detecting, amplifying and
possibly pre-processing autonomic function data (heart rate, stress
level, etc) before projection, the device could help pathologically
introverted people to engage in social interaction, or perhaps facilitate
understanding of people on the autism spectrum. In a sense,
the LA works as the reverse of the emotional prosthetic system described
in [El Kaliouby et al. 2006], in which a wearable device
with a tiny camera reports to its user about other’s people emotional
states (such as boredom). The LA is in fact a semi-autonomous extension
of the body and mind, and as such can serve a variety of
purposes - including attracting social attention by enlarging or retracting
the aura as a peafowl tail, or even sending signals of distress.
Of course, prosthetics for emotional expression can be implemented
without laser display technology: visual, auditive, tactile,
thermal or even olfactory cues could be generated by embedded
devices on clothing (or by changing the shape or color of the clothing
themselves). Psycho-physiological information could even be
broadcast wirelessly and activate nearby cell-phones vibrators, or
be uploaded on a blog or twit - effectively extending the emotional
aura online. However, by recruiting the immediate surrounding for
display, the LA has expressive power spanning intimate, personal,
social and public spaces. Also, laser vector graphics offer a form of
display that is naturally minimalistic in comparison to conventional
projectors (too much information could clutter human-human communication
instead of enhancing it). In the short term, we plan to
develop the current prototype by replacing the accelerometer by a
skin conductance sensor to measure arousal levels. In the future
we plan to make the device wearable, as well as give it the ability
to represent more complex states such as emotions by using affective
computing methods and techniques (including cameras for face
tracking and software to analyze the user interaction with the GUI).
References
CASSINELLI, A., REYNOLDS, C., AND ISHIKAWA, M. 2006.
Augmenting spatial awareness with haptic radar. 2006 10th
IEEE Intl Symp. on Wearable Comp., 61–64.
EL KALIOUBY, R., TEETERS, A., AND PICARD, R. 2006. An
exploratory social-emotional prosthetic for autism spectrum disorders.
Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks, 3–4.
WILDE, D., CASSINELLI, A., ZERROUG, A., HELMER, R., AND
ISHIKAWA, M. 2010. Light arrays: a system for extended engagement.
Proc. 8th Intl Conf. on Disabiliy, VR and Assoc. Tech.,