Scientists have discovered that future robots may be able to sense how you are feeling just by touching human skin. According to a new study published in the journal ieee access, Researchers use skin conductance to detect how a person is feeling. Skin conductance is a measure of how well the skin conducts electricity, which typically changes in response to sweat secretion and nerve activity, reflecting various human emotional states.
Traditional emotion-recognition techniques such as facial recognition and speech analysis are often prone to error, especially in sub-optimal audio-visual conditions. However, scientists believe that skin manipulations offer a potential solution, providing a non-invasive way of capturing emotions in real time.
For the study, the emotional reactions of 33 participants were measured by showing them emotionally arousing videos and measuring their skin conductance. The findings revealed different patterns for different emotions: fear reactions were the longest lasting, suggesting an evolutionary warning mechanism; Shows slow reaction to family bonding emotions, a mixture of happiness and sadness; And humor evoked quick but fleeting reactions.
The scientists highlight, “To date, few studies have examined how the dynamics of skin conductance responses vary between emotions, despite high reactivity being a key feature of skin conductance.”
“The results of this study are expected to contribute to the development of technologies that can be used in conjunction with other physiological signals to accurately predict emotions.”
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Integrating skin manipulations with other techniques
The study and conducting technique rely on the fact that an emotional response to any situation triggers sweat glands, which in turn changes the electrical properties of the skin. Although the method is not perfect, scientists argue that integrating it with measures such as heart rate and brain activity can refine the accuracy of emotion detection.
“There is a growing demand for techniques to predict individuals’ subjective experiences based on their physiological signals in order to provide emotionally stimulating services,” the scientists wrote in the study.
“Therefore, further exploration of these physiological signals, particularly skin conductance responses, in this study may advance techniques for emotion recognition.”
The study will have far-reaching consequences as it could mean that future robots will be able to not only interact but also empathize with human users by sensing the emotional state of them through subtle physical signals.
