Smart Glasses Can Read Emotions

A new type of glasses have been developed to help doctors read people’s emotions and help by amplifying the color and pallor of a person’s skin.  The rose tinted glasses will help doctors notice minute changes that are not visible to the naked eye. They will help magnify the eye’s natural ability to notice changes such as embarrassment by the reddening of the cheeks or a stomach ache by the yellow or green tint of the skin. The science behind the glasses explains that the glasses help detect the oxygenation and hemoglobin under the skin.

These glasses called O2Amps, amplifies what the wearer is able to read and interpret about those around them. The developer, Mark Changizi, has come up with at least three different filters, each one helping wearer see different things.  One of the filters will help doctors and nurses locate veins easier; the veins would appear to glow under the skin to allow medical professionals to find the right vein on the first try. Another filter would allow doctors to address trauma faster without the use of expensive imaging tools. The final filter would allow doctors to address the general, non-emergency appointment. Below, you can see a chart of the different filters and what they do.

Two hospitals are testing the glasses; Doctors at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital report the striking ability to see what is under the skin. These glasses can be very useful because of their small size and weight and do not require electricity. These glasses would be very helpful in developing countries and in disaster situations making triaging patients easier for doctors and nurses to access everyone’s needs.

I think these glasses could go beyond the medical world. To an extent these glasses could be a great asset to those who have trouble reading the people around them. For example, people with Aspberger’s often have difficulty reading the facial expressions of the people around them; these glasses, to an extent, could help them determine who their words are being perceived by others.

Do you know other people who could benefit from these glasses? If you were in a field that could benefit, would you use them?

Written by: Alyssa Shyken