Amazon Reads Emotions by Voice

We tested early models of 'emotion glasses' to detect emotion in interactions with consumer products.

Amazon's rumored wearable device reads your emotions by listening to your voice  Open the pod bay doors, Alexa.     By Michael Simon

 Alexa already brings joy to the millions of people who receive its packages, but now it wants to know how you’re feeling during the other 1,400 minutes in your day. Bloomberg reports that Amazon is developing a new wearable device “that can discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice.”

Bloomberg describes the device as a wrist-worn gadget marketed as a health and wellness product. It reportedly has “microphones paired with software” and “could be able to advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with others.” The device is being developed by the same teams responsible for the Echo speakers and Alexa voice recognition, Bloomberg says. The same group is is also reportedly working on a home robot companion with “advanced cameras and computer vision software and can navigate through homes like a self-driving car.”

If that sounds like the stuff of sci-fi dystopian nightmares, you’re not alone. We already rely on Alexa to turn out the lights and remind us to send birthday cards, but allowing Amazon to track our emotions is another thing entirely. It’s not hard to imagine a day when the tech could be built into an Echo speaker and suggest the latest season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel if it thinks we’re feeling blue. ... "