微軟開發出可監測情緒的智慧圍巾 | Microsoft shows off smart scarf prototype, updates Band

微軟開發出可監測情緒的智慧圍巾

美國電腦軟體製造商微軟公司已經開發出一種智慧圍巾的原型，可用來管理使用者的情緒狀態和解讀他人的情緒。

“Swarm”以通用設計為目標，應用模組化動作元件，適應穿戴者的感官能力和喜好，同時因圍巾的外型以時髦的方式呈現，以紓緩生硬的儀器感覺。

微軟表示，想像某人或每個人以圍巾作為工具的情境，穿戴生物傳感器，如心跳監測儀，通過藍牙發送數據至圍巾上。

微軟公司表示“使用於情緒測量（使用像心跳速率，排汗信號）的設備正變得更便宜、更可靠，像是智慧手錶類的新興產品已經開始整合心跳速率監測(諸如Samsung Galaxy Fit系列)，未來幾年之內，穿戴式監測器，如多用途智慧手錶或特殊設備(像Spire)將會像今日的健身帶般的無處不在。”

由Swarm傳感器所記錄的數據，反應出身體的情緒徵象，可通過藍牙傳遞給智慧手機或電腦，其最終可由醫生來判讀解析。

Microsoft報告指出: 由於某些殘疾的影響，許多人有情感識別的障礙，不管是自己的還是別人的，像是自閉症(ASD)一樣。

因此，其靈感來自於雷射切割成衣，其中包括金屬釦連結的互換式熱能產生模組，及產業用毛氈布及具有導電銅質的塔夫塔布所製成，被設計用來舒緩焦慮不安的病人如自閉症患者。這是透過將觸覺感應、冷卻及空氣壓縮驅動零件嵌入服裝內。

微軟的一位發言人說，研究的原型已經發展到“另一種情感運算的案例”。

這條智慧圍巾是由微軟研發團隊所開發，該團隊由畢業自馬里蘭大學的Michele Williams所領導。

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Microsoft shows off smart scarf prototype, updates Band

Microsoft is increasingly moving into the world of wearables, both through conceptual moonshots like the smart scarf recently presented by Microsoft Research and through a hefty update, released last week, to the fitness tracking functionality of the Microsoft Band smartwatch.

According to MIT Technology Review, the scarf was the brainchild of University of Maryland graduate student Michelle Williams, who led the project while she was an intern at Microsoft Research. Officially called SWARM (Sensing Whether Affect Requires Mediation), the vision for the scarf would be a gadget to help people with disabilities obtain additional information about others’ emotional states as well as respond to the user’s own emotions.

A Bluetooth app can cause the scarf to vibrate or heat up by sending signals to modules within the wearable that can be configured depending on the user’s preferences. The final version would send these signals directly in response to the readouts from sensors detecting emotional biomarkers like heart rate.

“We designed SWARM as a scarf for several reasons,” Williams and her co-authors wrote in the paper. “Firstly, we were inspired by weighted vests used in [autism spectrum disorder] therapy. While there is some controversy over its usefulness, many people with autism use pressure as a means of helping to focus and relieve the stress of sensory overload. A scarf could be wrapped around the wearer in a vestlike manner if such comfort were desired. Secondly, as mentioned, previous work presented a promising modular and versatile scarf design that appeared viable for housing several different actuations in one garment. The vast number of ways in which a scarf can be folded further motivated using this style of garment. Lastly, scarfs are currently fashionable and worn as an everyday garment, addressing our desire for a discreet design that does not draw unwanted attention as an assistive device.”

In the study, a panel of users with visual and hearing disorders as well as one user with autism tried out the scarf and told researchers about their own needs in terms of assessing and reacting to their own emotional states, as well as transmitting those states to others. Potential improvements could add cooling as well as heating, or add a music player or LED lights to the scarf.

Microsoft scarf swarm 2“People already use technology to regulate their emotions – our participants mentioned listening to music, driving, and calling others when experiencing emotions from stressed to excited,” the authors wrote in their conclusion. “Thus, envisioning explicitly combining emotional reactions into one device is not inconceivable. As indicated by our participants, one’s emotional state is not necessarily something people want broadcast, but more personal awareness (as in the Quantified Self movement) was desired. We propose systems for reflecting on and increasing awareness of one’s own and others’ emotional states as a future area of accessibility research that might be also useful for everyone as we move towards a smarter, sensor filled world that knows how people are feeling and can help people address this context.”

Since Williams is no longer with Microsoft Research, the future of the project is uncertain, researchers told MIT technology review.

Meanwhile, last week Microsoft released the first firmware update to its Microsoft Band smartwatch, adding a dozen new guided workouts to the connected Microsoft Health app, notably including a set of workouts from fitness author Mark Rippetoe. Although the workouts are stored in the phone, users can download them into the band to get workout feedback right on their wrists.

Source: Mobihealthnews