A meaningful relationship with your laptop could be closer than you think.

Whatever your mood, be it elation at the thought of the weekend ahead or despair at the contents of the in-tray, the computer on your desk could one day be sharing it with you according to Margaret McAlpine, a freelance journalist with a strong interest in IT education and training.

HUMAINE is a European project designed to improve interfaces or communication between computers and their users. Co-ordinated by Roddy Cowie, Professor of Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, it brings together around 160 researchers from 27 academic institutions across Europe.

Professor Cowie sees a new generation of emotionally sensitive computers becoming a reality within the next 25 to 30 years. In his words, 'There is no doubt that emotionally aware computers will be commonplace in the not too distant future, and will bring with them changes as radical as the arrival of Windows and user-friendly software. The job of the HUMAINE project is to make sure that European universities are going to be at the forefront of this vital area of research and development.'

The ability to recognise emotion is an important aspect of human intelligence, in the same way as mathematical or verbal intelligence. Recognising the emotional state of a fellow being is one of the key factors in forming lasting and rewarding relationships with work colleagues, friends, family and humanity in general.

Nobody wants a friend who talks for hours about themselves, oblivious to the fact that the listener is in the depths of despair or is longing to tell them some earth-shattering news and unable to get a word in edgeways. Equally, a human's interaction with computers would be much more comfortable if the machines were able to register, model and respond to the emotional state of the user.

It's the way that they say it

What makes dealing with computers infuriating in many situations is not that they are giving the wrong information, but that they are giving the right information in a way that users find annoying or difficult to follow, and which does not meet their own individual needs.

Purchasing cinema or theatre tickets over the phone is a case in point. There is no opportunity for discussion, only a voice repeating the message that the caller has failed to enter vital information and therefore the transaction cannot proceed.

Similarly, automatic phone-answering systems that give several transfer possibilities, none of which is appropriate, do nothing to improve computer/human relationships.

Emotionally sensitive computers should be fun - they will allow computerised entertainment companies to add a new dimension to their existing range of compulsive computer games.

On the serious side, computerised training and educational programmes would be able to take into account the emotional state of the user and adjust teaching methods in the same way that a teacher in a classroom gauges the mood of a group of pupils and adapts activities and teaching methods to suit them.

The comfort factor

Particularly important to computer manufacturers is the knowledge that, if computers were more comfortable to use, more people would use them. A significant step in this direction would be if users spoke to the computer and received a sensitive reply rather than having to use a keyboard.

Given the clear need for emotionally sensitive computers, it is not surprising that co-operation and networking between institutions and individuals interested in their development is already well established. Co-operation has now been taken a step further with the successful bid headed by Queen's University for European funding. The HUMAINE project, which commenced in January 2004, will take four years to complete, and has attracted funding of 10 million by the European Commission and its partners on a 50-50 basis.

In Professor Cowie's view, 'One of the most significant factors of HUMAINE is that it brings together different disciplines and provides an opportunity for sustained co-operation. This includes expertise in natural language processing, speech science, image processing, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, user-centred design, psychology and ethics.'

Professor Cowie's own background prepares him well for his role of co-ordinator of HUMAINE. He has a first degree in philosophy and psychology, and his PhD thesis was a comparison between psychology and artificial intelligence systems. In his words, 'One of my strengths is registering different viewpoints on the same subject.'

Initially, eight main strands to the HUMAINE project have been identified. Queen's leads one of these: the development of a database of emotions. A different European centre leads each of the others. While the working language for the project is English, this does not remove the possibility that different European languages employ different ways of describing emotions.

At present, there is particular interest in the numerical labelling of emotions based on a circular diagram, which would enable the ebb and flow of emotions to be monitored. As Professor Cowie explains, 'While a numerical system has practical advantages, it is not ideal and, as research progresses, other systems will be considered and possibly adopted. One of the exciting aspects of HUMAINE is that we don't know at this stage where our research will take us.'

Ethical considerations

For some people, the idea of emotionally sensitive computers capable of monitoring and analysing emotions is the stuff of horror stories. Ethical considerations already form part of the project and Professor Cowie sees this as highly significant.

'Issues of privacy and confidentiality are central to the development of emotionally sensitive computers and must be addressed from the beginning. However, it is important to separate fact from fantasy. It is part of human nature to enjoy a pleasurable shiver of fear at the thought of technology taking over the world. For example, the lie detector is still seen by many as being capable of distinguishing the truth from lies. It can do no such thing, yet the myth of its power remains and it is still widely used in the USA.'

'While it may serve the interests of commercial manufacturers to make claims for their products, scientists and academics must take ownership of their research and ensure that the technology they develop is used ethically,' he continues. 'The central issue is that emotionally sensitive computers should only be used with the full knowledge and consent of their operators who are free to use the off switch whenever they wish.'

Working together

The aim of HUMAINE is for participants to work together, not just to talk together. Tasks will be shared with close co-operation between network members.

A plenary meeting for the HUMAINE project was held in April 2004 in Saarbracken in Germany and was attended by 80 network members. It began a process of planning component projects that will demonstrate the principles needed to solve key problems. The process will be carried forward through workshops, and summer schools will be held to bring together established researchers and new staff, many of whom will be at postgraduate level.

HUMAINE is part of the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme that has the aim of enabling European science and technology to challenge world leaders and to create networks of excellence, bringing together expertise on a topic of importance and welding them into a world-class research community. Contracts for the first of these networks of excellence, including HUMAINE, were signed in December 2003.