This Wi-Fi Can Tell If You’re Sad, MIT Study

Our modern environment is saturated with wireless signals, a consequence of our insatiable desire to transmit data seamlessly and efficiently. A new device developed by scientists at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) can use these ubiquitous signals to detect our inner emotional states.

The “EQ-Radio” device bounces wireless signals off a person’s body to capture subtle changes in breathing and heart rhythms. And it doesn’t require any on-body sensors or facial-recognition software. In tests, the system proved nearly 90 percent accurate when assessing how these physiological changes corresponded to four specific emotional states: happy, excited, angry, and sad.

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