The Pen That Tracks Your Emotions – Good Fun Or Scary Stuff?
February 2, 2008 by Yvonne Russell
The New Scientist reports that electronic giant, Phillips has a new pen in the works – one that tracks your emotions as you write, including level of enthusiasm.
What the standard pen does not do so easily, Philips notes, is record the mood of the writer at the moment of writing. So it has developed a pen with sensors in its shaft that detect physiological factors, such as heart beat, blood pressure, skin temperature, and finger pressure.
“The result is a pen that produces a continuous record of how the user felt while writing.” as shown by trace depth and colors. Of course, the sensor could be switched off, or you could use a different pen. The expressive pen patent says in part,
By changing the trace of the pen from for example blue to red, a change in mood of the user can be expressed.
Scary Stuff
This reminds me of the forced smile that doesn’t go all the way to the eyes. You could be writing one thing but feeling another, and this pen would give you away – not good in a business setting.
Historical Implications
New Scientist postulates that this could be useful for historical reasons. It would be interesting to know the mood of signatories to major agreements and declarations throughout history.
Would You Use The Expressive Pen?
Would you use it to track your own emotions when writing for yourself, for journal writing or for fun? Would you be game to use it for business communication?