According to a report, Amazon is developing a new wearable device which “reads human emotions.” The device will be wrist-worn and voice-activated with its primary functionality being the ability to read human emotions. It would thus be a health and wellness device unlike any other on the market today.
Bloomberg reports, based on information from a source and internal Amazon documents that it has reviewed, that the Alexa voice software team and Amazon’s Lab126 hardware division are working together on this product. The wearable device will have microphones that allow it to “discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice,” adding that the technology will eventually be able to “advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with others.”
Amazon’s Lab126 division has been behind a variety of its hardware products including but not limited to the ill-fated Fire Phone and the smash hit Echo speaker. It was also reported last year that the division was working on a home robot.
Amazon hasn’t confirmed or denied the existence of this project but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility. There are several measurable biomarkers which can reveal human emotions. However, just how effective a machine is at discerning them is another matter entirely. The report does say that it’s not certain at this point in time if the project will result in a product that’s released commercially. If the tech doesn’t work, Amazon could scrap the project.
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