Google Glass has gone through a difficult period. Since Google released a new, more stylish version of Google Glass in July last year, and moved from a mass market to a professional work scene, we haven't heard about the new product for a long time. But a recent project at Stanford University will restart the technology.
It is understood that Stanford University School of Medicine is launching a project called SuperpowerGlass. A research report published in npj Digital Medicine pointed out that recently, through the combination of Google Glass and facial recognition software, researchers have developed a new type of treatment that can inform the wearer what emotions people are expressing. It can alleviate the social dilemmas that are currently faced by autistic patients and improve their social development during their growth and future life.
According to the National Autistic Society, autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects, in particular, the communication and connection of a person with others and how they experience the world around them. In addition, for people with autism, it is difficult for them to learn these skills through treatment, not to mention how expensive it is.
However, the Superpower Glass project combines Google Glass with smartphone apps to leverage technology to help children improve their social skills. Specifically, during the test, the team invited 14 autistic children from 12 families to participate in the new treatment. During the trial, the glasses record what the child sees through the glasses and then send the data to the app.
It is understood that the application uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to automatically recognize facial expressions and then prompts the child to participate in what they see. The test results show that when these children are in contact with people, eye contact does improve. Unfortunately, the test did not set up a control group, so it is impossible to verify that the relevant improvement is 100% from the assistance of GoogleGlass.
Because the study has a game-like trait, it encourages children to connect with others to recognize facial expressions and emotions. If the green light on the eyes is lit, this is an affirmation of their eye contact with others, and an encouraging emoji will appear if the emotions are correct.
Dennis Wall, a senior research author of the project, said in an interview with the media, “This is a fun-filled opportunity to engage in interactive opportunities for families who may not have emotional communication.”
In addition, a parent named Donji Cullenbine said she soon noticed a change in her son Alex.
"It's really exciting. I tried to motivate him to look at me for so many years but didn't get any response. However, within two weeks, he was like being opened a switch and said to me, 'Mom, I can read. thought'."
Research at SuperpowerGlass is still underway and the team hopes it will be widely used by people with autism.
In addition, many giants have proposed related solutions to the use of technology to help improve the problems of people with autism. For example, Samsung launched an app in 2014 to help children with autism improve communication skills; startup Mightier has also launched a game platform to help people with autism and ADHD learn how to control their emotions; MIT is through After a smart watch app, it analyzes the voice and tone of people's conversations to understand the meaning of the conversation, and helps the user to confirm the current emotional state of the person speaking.