Gizmodo: emotional

KOBIAN Emotional Humanoid Robot: Mime of the Future?

Odelia Lee — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:00:00 EDT

By adjusting its posture and wiggling its eyes and lips, this plucky android conveys several emotions. From the looks of it, they run the gamut from joy to absolute disgust. More pics after the jump.

I find it curious that KOBIAN is being developed for use in care facilities such as nursing homes. I'm not sure how much of this dramatic little robot the elderly (or anyone else) can handle. [Nikkei Net via Pink Tentacle]

Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Clock Lightning Review

Jason Chen — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

The Gadget: Philips' goLITE BLU, a blue light dispensing clock that helps reduce the effects of seasonal affective disorder, a.k.a. the winter blues. It's best used in 15-30 minute daily intervals when it's dark out.

The Price: $250

The Verdict: I'm pretty sure it works. Unlike normal things we review, which can (for the most part) be expressed quantitatively, a device that raises your mood is by nature, subjective. But this little blue clock has noticeably eliminated my seasonally-created low energy, low mood and a general sluggishness in the past few weeks.

The goLITE is supposed to be placed about 15 degrees off center to where your attention is—the monitor, in our case. You use one of the four brightness settings for somewhere between 15-30 minutes (or more if you like) every day in order to simulate the missing sun. The light works through your eyes, which explains why it needs to be in your field of view. Even at the lowest setting, this thing is bright as hell, so avoid looking directly at it.

Whether or not I'm actually feeling better because the blue light's rays are working or it's just me and the placebo effect wanting myself to feel better, I don't know. But there are other reviews out there that say that it works. And I believe this does. My energy is up, I don't feel as depressed, and as a result, I don't feel like I'm trudging through the day.

The $250 price tag may seem like quite a bit to pay for something you only use 30 minutes a day, but think of it like this. We buy electronics all the time in order to give ourselves and emotional boost; the goLite is one that's actually designed for that purpose. [Light Therapy and Amazon]

FuChat Concept Phone Detects Then Displays your Emotional State

Kit Eaton — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:41:16 EDT

The FuChat concept phone is pretty, and kind of half-phone, half-Chumby as its surface is a concealed display used to show widgets: from weather displays, to showing a "keep out" sign on your door. But the emotional-sensing aspect got me intrigued. FuChat would be able to analyze your voice and body temp and guess at your emotional status... then display it back to you, supposedly enhancing the emotional aspects of communication. That sounds appealing, until you wonder what it'd be like to have a damn phone telling you you're bloody angry in the middle of an empassioned rant to the ex. As well as being designed to hang on door handles or stand on desks, this thing would have to be "smashed onto the floor-proof" too. Just a concept. [Tuvie]

LG Emotional Series Monitors

rhbaby — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:50:39 EST

Reading the press release for the LG Emotional series monitor is like getting a massage and being licked by kittens at the same time. Monitor specifications be damned, LG loves me and wants to provide relief from everyday hassles of long hours of computer use. They accomplish this through the Feng Shui of flatscreen LCD monitor design, luxurious glossy finishing and three (count em: three!) types of stands. This sort of pure unadulterated marketing hype should incorporate a picture of a windblown Fabio instead of a picture of the monitor.