Empathic Computing
The coming age of empathic computingMark
[email protected] 2nd 2016AWE 2016
ConferenceSanta Clara, USA
Current AR/VR/Wearable Technology
Applications
EnabledGamingEducationHealthMedicineTrainingTourismEtc
Looking to the Future
5
EmpathySeeing with the Eyes of another,Listening with the Ears
of another, and Feeling with the Heart of another..Alfred Adler
Empathic Computing1. Understanding: Systems that can understand
your feelings and emotions2. Experiencing: Systems that help you
better experience the world of others3. Sharing: Systems that help
you better share the experience of others
Sensors
VR
AR
1. Understanding: Affective ComputingRos Picard MIT Media
LabSystems that recognize emotion
Example:
Affectivahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QDMNPhMJI4
2. Experiencing: Virtual Reality
"Virtual reality offers a whole different medium to tell stories
that really connect people andcreate anempathic connection." Nonny
de la Peahttp://www.emblematicgroup.com/
Using VR for EmpathyUSC Project Syria (2014)Experience of
Terrorism
Project Homeless (2015)Experience of Homelessness
For example, in her work she has developed VR interfaces to show
what is it like to be in a terrorist bombing in Syria, or a
homeless food line in Los Angeles. These are single user experience
and provide a power immersive experience.12
Project
Homelesshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=SSLG8auUZKc
CHILDHOOD (Siggraph 2015)Kenji Suzuki, University of TsukubaWhat
does it feel like to be a child?VR display + moved cameras + hand
restrictors
CHILDHOOD Demohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3OghiKZxz4
Sharing: Augmented RealityCan we develop systems that allow us
to share what we are seeing, hearing and feeling with others?
Empathy Glasses (CHI 2016)Combine together eye-tracking,
display, face expressionImpicit cues eye gaze, face expression
++Pupil LabsEpson BT-200AffectiveWear Masai, K., Sugimoto, M.,
Kunze, K., & Billinghurst, M. (2016, May). Empathy Glasses.
InProceedings of the 34th Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts
on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM.
AffectiveWear Emotion GlassesPhoto sensors to recognize
expressionUser calibrationMachine learningRecognizing 8 face
expressions
Empathy Glasses in UseEye gaze pointer and remote pointingFace
expression displayIn future integrated eye-tracking/display
This shows the Empathy glasses in used. A person wearing them is
assembling some wooden blocks. The view from the head worn camera
is sent to a remote expert helper as well as the gaze pointer and a
representation of the persons face expression. The remote is
watching this on a monitor and can use a mouse to highlight points
of interest. This pointer view is then shared back to the local
user, so he or she can see when the remote user is indicating. We
ran a pilot use study that showed that sharing eye-gaze on the
video made a significant improvement over just sharing live
video.19
Empathy Glasses Demo
Lessons Learned
Pointing really helps in remote collaborationMakes remote user
feel more connectedGaze looks promisingShows context of what person
talking aboutEstablish shared understanding/awarenessFace
expression Used as an implicit cue to show comprehension
LimitationsLimited implicit cuesTask was a poor emotional
triggerAffectiveWear needs improvement
Empathic VR EnvironmentsPlayer and ViewerViewer slaved to player
Share emotional signals Heart rate, GSRRemote affect measuring
Demo: Empathic VR
AR and VR for Empathic ComputingVR systems are ideal for trying
experiences:Strong story telling medium Provide total immersion/3D
experienceEasy to change virtual body scale and representation
AR systems are idea for live sharing:Allow overlay on real world
view/can share viewpointsSupport remote
annotation/communicationEnhance real world task
As the examples Ive shown demonstrate, AR and VR are both ideal
technologies for empathic computing. VR is perfect for getting
people to try other experiences because it can immerse you in the
experience. AR is perfect for live sharing of what people are
seeing, hearing and feeling because it can be used for live
streaming of a remote persons view and placing annotations on that
view. 24
ConclusionsTrend towards Empathic ComputingUnderstanding,
Experiencing, SharingAR/VR Enables Empathic ExperiencesChanges
perspective Sharing space/experienceSupports
annotation/communicationMany directions for future research
25In conclusion, Ive shown that there is a trend towards
technologies that enhance understanding, experiencing and sharing,
and to Empathic Computing. AR and VR enable types of empathic
experiences do to their ability to share a first person view, share
space and support communication cues. However there are many
directions for future research, such as exploring how to capture
and represent emotion.
www.empathiccomputing.org@marknb00
[email protected]
