Computers have come a long way in the past few decades. Coming from computers that filled up an entire roomonly having so much as 2 gigabytes (GB) or smaller for memoryto having a computer that is smaller than your torso and can contain as much as 128 GB (or more) of memory. However, we have only started scratching the surface on the technology of facial recognition. Believe it or not, there is now software that canfor the most partread your emotions!

The software is the latest creation made by Prof. Thomas Huang, of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science at the University of Illinois, who works in collaboration with Prof. Nicu Sebe of the University of Amsterdam. (1) Dr. Huang relies on the work of psychologist Dr. Paul Eckman who is "the creator of FACS (Facial Action Coding System)" (3).

How the computer works is that it creates a 3-D computer model of the face that incorporates all 44 major muscles of the human face into the model. Eckman has classfied these six basic emotions into the software: happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness. (3) Each emotion is associated with characteristic action units to differentiate between emotions. (3) Video imagery (4) is used to capture these action units. For example the text says: "frontalis pars lateralis muscle (above your eyes) raises your eyebrows when youre surprised;..." (3). The computer captures all of that.

This advancement of technology is truly fascinating, however it can be harshly criticised by the public if it comes out to classrooms now. It's new and can only capture so much; they only considered using emotional features from six basic and distinct emotions that Eckman ensued into this innovation. (3)

It can also be compatible with one computer, so it wouldn't be practical or create a state of financial stability if a school had to buy one for each student. Even if it were software it could probably slow down a less-compatible device and could hinder the work process in a school for a machine whose sole purpose is to capture how a student scorns during a math lesson.

If the tech were to be efficient in speed and usage in a classroom or any other setting, then it should be a necessity in school. However, with programs such as Google, the computer just would not be necessary. In the text it says: "Imagine a computer that knows when youre happy or sad. For example, if you smile when a Web ad appears on your screen, a similar ad might follow. But if you frown, the next ad will be different." (6) Google does that by taking information you search publicly in your own Google accounts.

As for identifying how students feel during class, as said in the text in paragraph six: " 'A classroom computer could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored,' Dr Huang predicts." (6) Teachers are able to get a public opinion by using a program by Google Classroom to send a poll out to their students, or just by being amicable and approachable enough to let students ask questions about confusing material.

If the previous information can be proved wrong, then it would be good to have in a classroom. But how can a computer capture someone's emotions if they have their hand over their face or their head down? They simply can't help that type of situation. Also, humans are very complex creatures. People can act like they seem happy outwardly, even if they aren't. Some people can be born with facial deformities. Deformities in people's faces can be very unitelligable to the eyes of society, in some cases, or just stoic due to a chronic disease that causes muscle tissue to be stiff. The program would not be able to read people's emotions if they can't express it like most people can due to their conditions. Again, the program was designed for an average human face and only 6 emotions as a base. (3)

As a civilization, we are moving forward. It would not be a surprise if in a decade or two, every classroom has an emotion-reading computer that works efficiently for everyone. However, as of now, we are only merely scraping what is FACS tech and how to modify it into our everyday lives. Releasing this innovation to the public mow wouldn't be practical due to how new it is. But it would be cool to have something that works that way with little error.