Picard says feelings are a combination of two different spectrums - positive to negative and calm to excited.
If you've backed into your neighbour's car you are probably excited-negative. If you just left a yoga retreat, you're likely to be positive-calm.
She has developed and is beginning to commercialise sensors that measure these two dimensions. One, using a computer camera, scans facial features for emotions, from giggles to frowns.
The other relies on wristbands that measure the electrical conductivity of skin, an indicator of emotional arousal. An interesting conversation will generate a spike, as will encountering an obnoxious colleague. Most lectures with PowerPoint slides will lead people to flatline.
Prices for the sensors are still high, but a company Picard co-founded, Affectiva, hopes to make them available to consumers in the next year or two.
Picard says the wrist bands, which she wears constantly, have helped her. She used to get stressed by Boston's terrible drivers - until she saw how high she was spiking when behind the wheel.
by Karen Weintraub
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14251542
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