Being able to navigate the social currents of school, work and life present a significant deficit for many individuals on the autistic spectrum, those who have non-verbal learning disabilities among other disabilities. Until now the only way to address social deficits was through low tech means and talking therapy. Researchers at MIT's media lab are unveiling a new device that may prove quite remarkable in teaching social skills.
This new invention is called an
" 'emotional social intelligence prosthetic' device, which El Kaliouby is constructing along with MIT colleagues Rosalind Picard and Alea Teeters, consists of a camera small enough to be pinned to the side of a pair of glasses, connected to a hand-held computer running image recognition software plus software that can read the emotions these images show. If the wearer seems to be failing to engage his or her listener, the software makes the hand-held computer vibrate."
Essentially the camera which is hooked to the hand held computer is trained to recognize signs of boredom, irritation and other common emotions that people's facial expressions show during conversation. The feedback in the form of vibration will hopefully provide a physical prompt to alter the conversation.
Social workers and other therapists need not fear for their jobs any time soon. The device provides feedback but does not instruct the person who has social deficits as to what to do when feedback is given. Nor does the device have the ability to clue into other forms of nonverbal communication that can be critical, such as tone of voice, body language, and context. Nevertheless, coupling up this high technology with other more traditional means of social training has the potential to provide real benefits for this pervasive area of need.
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