Empathetic computers -- a shallower Hal?

ZDNet (Roland Piquepaille) shares the story of the Fraunhofer Institute's Emotions in Speech project, in which experts are working on computers that can interpret human emotions. Cameras, image analysis and gloves that record heartbeat, breathing rate, blood pressure and skin temperature are all a part of the system. Researchers note that many of us take out our frustrations on our computers, and hope this solution will provide information that will again make us friends with the technology. When this finds its way into my system, I hope they will equip it with the means to leave the room when it irritates me.

Christian Peter, a key player in the project, has prepared a white paper on the approach.