Internet of Things and Data Analytics Handbook

38EMOTIONAL INSIGHTS VIA WEARABLES

GAWAIN MORRISON

Sensum, Belfast, UK

38.1 INTRODUCTION

Technology can read our emotions—a subject matter that stirs deep questions about ourselves, our societies, our methods of communication, our future civilization.

There are many science fiction books and films that vary from harmonious to dystopian futures depending on how paranoid the author or the characters are. Who is to know what way the future will play out, but we have the opportunity to shape that direction by grabbing hold of the devices, the data, and the opportunities to do better for humanity right now.

And this handbook will provide a comprehensive view of the array of hardware and software technologies being created to record data of our place in space, the parameters of the world and universe around us, and what is biometrically happening in our bodies. And that’s a lot of data!

While we are right to be cautious of how the data may be used and by whom, we should take this opportunity to open up the discussions for this new age of data capture and transmission—we call it the Age of the Digital Self. If we treat the digital form of ourselves with the same rights as we would treat the human form of ourselves, we have a bright future in achieving harmony with emotional technology, machines, industries, medicine, and beyond.

This chapter will give you an introduction to how you can look at the measurement of emotions with these technological advances and why anyone would bother. ...