Interaction Engineering Student Projects
Embodied Emoticons
Susan Kaltschmidt Djamilia Richter
Embodied cognition indicates that aspects of the body, beyond the brain, shape some aspects of cognition. These mental constructs include, amongst others, emotions, memory and judgement. For instance, a happy expression like smiling can lead to positive emotions. With "Embodied Emoticons" this psychological aspect is transferred to a quick-to-grasp practical application. The concept takes place in a public setting and provides a short, fun interaction to encourage users to smile in order to improve their mood and relieve stress. For this purpose the facial expression of the interacting person is recognized and overlaid by an emoticon according to different, preset options. The user also has the option to share the interaction in form of a digital postcard in the end. For testing purposes the application is displayed on a small screen and evaluated individually by selected subjects with a brief, previous explanation of interaction techniques.
Keywords
Face interaction Affective interaction Gamification