Everybody remember mood rings? The jewelry that would supposedly change color based on one’s emotional state, but was really only responding to changes in body temperature? Well now, thanks to the team at Sentio Solutions Inc. and their “Feel” wristband, mood monitoring has made a quantum leap from the level of “fortune tellers who work out of the backs of their vans” to “hardcore technology startup that may actually deliver a viable product.”
Revealed at CES 2016 in Las Vegas last week, Sentio’s emotional tracker, aptly called Feel, is wearable tech that aims to provide the same type of assistance as something like the Fitbit. But instead of focusing on keeping its wearer physically active, it is supposed to help wearers keep track of their emotional well-being, and make adjustments if necessary. Sentio’s slogan for the Feel is “Hack Happiness.”
According to the “myfeel” website, the Feel works by using “4 integrated sensors on the wristband [that] measure and track biosignals from users throughout the day, including galvanic skin response, blood volume pulse and skin temperature.” Using a companion app, the Feel system visually graphs a user’s emotional state throughout a given day and provides “personalized recommendations to help users reduce stress and improve well-being.” In other words, the Feel will know that you felt great after you ran several miles yesterday. Today, it has sensed that you’re not feeling great, so it will recommend that you do some more running.
Sentio’s app will graph your daily moods.
Among some of the other pretty nifty features of the Feel are “alerts” that will cause the wristband to vibrate in the case of extremely stressful situations (although wouldn’t this sort of add to the stress?), “personalized recommendations” to provide wearers with advice like “laugh more,” and an “emotional wellness plan” that will help to ensure users are sticking to their long-term emotional goals. (Sadly, the Feel will not help you to control BB-8 like this wristband does.)
Although the claims made by Sentio seem to be exciting, it has yet to be seen if the Feel can actually make people happier. It’s relatively easy for the Fitbit to claim that it can help you to stay more active, as you can force yourself to get out and exercise. But forcing yourself to be happy? How should we feel about that? Let’s check our wristbands.
What do you think about Sentio’s Feel? Are you excited to have more control over your emotional well-being, or will this wristband end up in that shoebox in your closet with all of your other mood jewelry from sixth grade? Let us know in the comments section below!
HT: Forbes
Images: Sentio Solutions Inc.
