"Most human communication is nonverbal, including emotional communication," notes Dr. Huang. "So computers need to understand that, too."

The use of this technology to read students' emotional expressions is a great way to see if someone is happy. It can possibly help others to see the person in front of them and what their emotions are or what that person is 'trying to hide'

It's all about muscular action units. They even indicate the difference between a genuine smile and a forced one. In the real smile, the zygomatic major (the muscles that begin at the cheek bones) lift the corners of your mouth.

The muscles called orbicularis oculi pars palpabraeus make crow's-feet around the eyes. But in a fake smile, the mouth is stretched sideways using the zygomatic major and a different muscle, the risorius. To an expert, faces don't lie; these muscle clues are sometimes used to spot when a "smiling" politician or celebrity is not being thruthful.

Making a fake smile can also help produce a real one. Practicing with putting a pencil across your mouth works the same muscles as when a person is smiling for real.

This project does help in forms that can tell when someone is being sad, happy, disgusted, surprised, angry, fearful, and/or sad.