Software
February 24th, 2023

Real-time feelings for a new gaming experience

A Swiss start-up is working on a new wristband that can read your emotions to shape your gaming experience in real time.

Playing video games triggers a range of emotions depending on the genre, from fear to joy, challenge to relaxation. Until today, when buying a game players have had to decide what kind of emotions they want to experience – but this may no longer be the case. Technological progress is also making its way into video games, as the young Geneva-based start-up OVOMIND shows.

Bringing emotions to gaming

OVOMIND, founded in 2019, brings emotion to gaming, much in the way the Nintendo Wii U brought motion to gaming 20 years ago. The start-up’s technology transmits the emotional state of a player through various bio signals via a new type of wristband. This information is then used by game manufacturers to influence gameplay in real time.

For me, gaming is the most advanced example of human-machine interaction. But it’s missing a layer.

Yann Frachi, CEO and co-founder of OVOMIND

A wristband equipped with many sensors

Equipped with tiny sensors, the wristband uploads raw data into the cloud for computing the state of a player’s emotions. Emotional states such as joy, stress, fear, surprise, doubt or anger are automatically reflected through the sensor and can change the course of the game. The wristband measures several parameters. All these parameters are cross-referenced and determine the state the player is currently in by pattern recognition:

Accelerometer

detects the slightest movement of the body. Thus, by analysing the way the gamer moves, it already knows their emotional state.

Heart sensor

measures the pulse. Accelerated heart activity can mean moments of stress or fear.

Galvanic skin response

The body has no less than 3 million sweat glands, which react to the emotional state, whether positive or negative.

Skin temperature

explains a great deal about a person’s emotional state.

Closed beta to launch in early 2023

After a successful second round of funding of USD 1.6 million and numerous support from the gaming industry, such as NVIDIA, the Swiss start-up plans to launch a closed beta of its novel technology soon. The first step is to enable gaming studios to integrate data on the emotional states of players into their game worlds. Gaming studios will be able to use the software development kit and documents for technology integration (Unity, Unreal Engine and C++) to alter gameplay depending on the emotional state of the player. At the same time, streamers will also be able to start to experiment with the new possibilities while broadcasting their video games live and sharing data on their emotional states to their communities.