SkinConductance
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Affectiva's Q Sensor wristband monitors and logs stress levels, might bring back the snap bracelet
Credit to Affectiva -- for a medical bracelet, the Q Sensor looks delightful. The item you're peering at here has been developed by the aforesaid Massachusetts-based startup in order to give a voice to those who may not have one, and in theory, it can provide vital information to caregivers long before a breakdown takes place. Particularly with autistic children, who often cannot communicate their stress levels effectively, the Q Sensor is able to "detect and record physiological signs of stress and excitement by measuring slight electrical changes in the skin." From there, it can send signals to doctors, parents or caregivers, and those folks can react accordingly to information that they would otherwise not be privy to. Put simply, the band works by detecting subtle moisture changes under the skin when the "flight or fight" mode is initiated, and while even the creators admit that such a response isn't absolutely indicative of stress, it's generally a signal worth paying attention to for one reason or another. Purportedly, a beta version is set to go on sale to researchers and educators later this month for $2,000, and there's a video just after the break if you're still struggling to grok the purpose.
Biofeedback signals used to predict gamers' moves
While it's no shock that artificial intelligence as a whole is making strides, a pair of Hungarian researchers have seemingly unlocked a secret that gamers are sure to detest. Laszlo Laufer and Bottyan Nemeth, both from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, have reportedly "discovered that a gamer's button presses can be predicted two seconds before they make them, through measurements of skin conductance." To make such a bold claim, the duo had guinea pigs play a simple game while their heart rate and skin conductance were measured, and after utilizing "neural networks to analyze the biofeedback signals and input records," the data showed that we humans aren't as unpredictable as we sometimes hope to be. Notably, this unearthing could be used in quite a few applications outside of infuriating gamers, but we all know where the real fun in this is.[Via The Raw Feed]
