Glasses help wearers better detect others’ emotions and health

2AI Labs’ O2Amp glasses clarify the color of people’s faces to enable the wearer to better perceive others' feelings and wellbeing.

Glasses are attracting a lot of attention from innovators thanks to the greater feasibility of wearable technology – in Japan, we recently saw the development of privacy-protecting glasses that obscure wearers’ faces from prying cameras. Working on the other end of the spectrum, O2Amp glasses clarify vision and enable users to better interpret others’ emotions and health. When people are embarrassed or being untruthful, the concentration of oxygen in the blood around the face increases, and when they are scared or anxious, it decreases. Sometimes this is noticeable but other times not. Developed by 2AI Labs, the O2Amp glasses are tinted to reduce specific parts of the light spectrum to better show changes in the color of the skin when this happens. The idea behind the glasses was initially to help users better detect social cues and avoid awkward situations, but the devices have proven to be useful in other fields. The glasses are being tested for use by poker players, and law enforcement bodies could use them during interrogations to interpret the trustworthiness of witnesses’ or the accused’s account of an incident. Additionally, health professionals are trialling the spectacles to help them more quickly and accurately detect patients’ health, from high temperatures to bruises underneath the skin. Finally, because the glasses amplify differences in hues, color blind people and even visual artists could benefit. The glasses are available in three variations, each priced at USD 297. 2AI Labs co-director and neurobiologist Mark Changizi explains more about the innovation in the video below: The technology behind the O2Amp glasses offers solutions for a variety of applications that the creators have only discovered after developing their initial idea. Could your product have potential in markets outside of your initial research? Spotted by: Raymond Neo