Concert feedback

In the Affective Computing group at MIT Media Lab, researchers are looking at systems that can help therapists measure the moods of patients with afflictions like autism. The idea is to best help therapists by giving them a way to see how their patients respond to any number of stimuli or activities. And while that is already possible to some extent simply by observing, that is a very inexact science, the researchers argue. By adding sensitive sensors to the mix, it is possible to get a much more accurate sense of how the patient--often a child--is feeling at any given moment.

This is a graph showing the results of sensors testing one Media Lab student's reactions to a concert. It is possible to see the excitement level rising at the end of each song, as well as a mood dip partway through the concert when his least favorite song was played.

Click here to read the related story on the MIT Media Lab, and click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.

July 23, 2010 4:00 AM PDT

Photo by: Daniel Terdiman/CNET

| Caption by: Daniel Terdiman