Focus groups have long been used to test audiences responses to products, but research shows people aren't always completely honest in group settings. But now, new technology could fill the gap.
Susan Constantine is the founder of eFocus A-I, an emotion detection software that claims to read your emotions without you saying a word.
"It's almost like facial recognition," Constantine said. "It's a mathematical genius that knows how to map the face."
The technology was tested with three panelists to gauge their reactions to different scenarios. Two cameras were set up, and one was positioned squarely on the panelists' faces.
The software reads dozens of data points on each person’s face, then processes the slightest micro expression to detect their emotions down to the second.
"We can give you with 100 percent surety exactly what people are thinking and feeling without them even saying a word," Constantine said.
There are minute facial movements that are universal to certain emotions, according to Constantine, who is also a body language expert.
The software uses an algorithm to compare those expressions with millions of others in its database to determine the likelihood of a certain emotion.
The program can test up to 12 people at a time. It is already being used in the legal community to test how a jury might perceive a trial strategy.
Constantine sees it being used in a number of ways, perhaps with advertisers wanting to gauge an audience's reaction to a commercial before it hits the air.
Constantine is in the process of getting a patent for the eFocus A-I technology.