Emotion detection software used to design advertising

The marketing industry has revolutionized the way people create publicity. Through the emotions, it defines which images, colors and objects best generate product identity and achieve great sales.

Enrique León Villeda, Mexican computer specialist living in Spain, has been responsible for this revolution. He developed software that reads the real-time emotions a person experiences when faced with specific products.

The algorithm created by Leon Villeda measures heart rate and transfers the data via Bluetooth to a mobile phone or computer, where positive or negative emotion is determined in real-time.

The software shows how a buyer connects with a brand and how emotions influence decision making. "When we experience an emotion, it affects the way we act and the way we relate to our surroundings. When shopping , we decide which brand or product we take home, we make this decision through television advertising (and other media) with images of different products from different companies," he explains.

"Though the software does not include a sensor, it can use commercial accessories like bracelets or a band chest. When the buyer experiences an emotion we can know what kind and how strong," the Mexican adds.

The project was developed by Tecnalia, center for applied research and innovation, one of the largest in Europe, resulting in a patent.

The software is used in the creation of advertising. A picture or video is shown to a group of people who have the system in place to determine using heart rate data the relationship between the image and the emotional experience. Thus, researchers can see if the results are positive or negative.

Another way to use it is to monitor a subject via bracelet and through the data transmitted via Bluetooth to a cell phone, monitor the emotions they have while going through the department store. The supermarket owner can thereby know if a product has any impact and if the advertising is properly positioned.

In addition,León Villeda highlights that the system can help design a product and detect what kind of image is embedded in the memory of the consumer.

"When the customer goes to a store and has to choose between brands, seeing the image or logo will bring back that positive emotion he or she felt when first saw the message making them more likely to buy the product," says Leon Villeda.

Enrique Leon Villeda has 11 years of experience in detecting emotions and has studied in different cities. In England, as part of his doctorate in affective computing, he designed a vest that monitored emotions in relation to the conditions of light and temperature.

In Ireland, he analyzed political speeches to discover how emotions acted upon hearing a phrase by a candidate.