Facebook could one day build facial gesture controls for its app thanks to the acquisition of a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff company called FacioMetrics. The startup made an app called Intraface that could detect seven different emotions in people’s faces, but it’s been removed from the app stores.
The Greensburg Tribune Review spotted the acquisition, and reports that De la Torre’s research and app could be used to spot drowsy drivers, automatically analyze focus groups, detect depression, and improve avatars in video games. That last part could come in help, since Facebook’s Oculus division is also working on making life-like avatars that convey emotions via “VR emoji”. For example, shaking your fist in the air inside Oculus would make your avatar’s face turn angry.
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