For many years, researchers have been exploring ways to create digital devices capable of understanding non-verbal clues in human to human interactions. One such project is currently being led by Professor Peter Robinson at the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge.
Professor Robinson is currently working on a project, which he refers to as “Mind-Reading Machines”, which can infer the mental states of people from their body language. With the project machines will attempt to analyze faces, gestures and tone of voices, which will be a lot more helpful than current technologies.
Below is a video released by Professor Robinson showing him using a traditional satnav device, versus one that features both the “mind-reading” interface and a humanoid head modeled on that of Charles Babbage.