Computer Laboratory: Emotionally intelligent interfaces

With the rapid advances in key computing technologies and the heightened user expectation of computers, the development of socially and emotionally adept technologies is becoming a necessity. This project is investigating the inference of people's mental states from facial expressions, vocal nuances, body posture and gesture, and other physiological signals, and also considering the expression of emotions by robots and cartoon avatars. Facial expressions provide an important spontaneous channel for the communication of both emotional and social displays. They are used to communicate feelings, show empathy, and acknowledge the actions of other people. In this research we investigate how facial expression information can be used as part of a wider context to make useful inferences about a user's mental state in a natural computing environment, in such a way that increases usability.