Inducing emotional response through craniofacial stimulation
A system for inducing emotional response through craniofacial stimulation, comprising an emotion enhancement device that selects a stimulation configuration and directs the operation of a plurality of stimulation transducers based on the selected stimulation configuration. In some aspects the emotion enhancement device is configured to be worn on the head of a human user, and in some aspects the stimulation configuration is selected based on input cues from hardware sensors.
1. A system for inducing emotional response through craniofacial stimulation, comprising:
an article of headgear further comprising:
one or more hardware sensors configured to detect environmental conditions near the article of headgear; and
one or more stimulation transducers being arranged to correspond to a plurality of target areas about the face and head of a human user when the headwear is worn, wherein the plurality of stimulation transducers is configured to apply direct stimulation to the plurality of target areas; and
an emotion enhancement device comprising: a processor, a memory, and a plurality of programming instructions stored in the memory and operating on the processor, wherein the programming instructions, when operating on the processor, cause the processor to:
receive a signal from each of the one or more hardware sensors;
select a stimulation configuration based on a combination of the signals received from the one or more hardware sensors;
continuously adjust the stimulation configuration based on the combination of signals from the one or more hardware sensors;
select a plurality of target areas about a user's face and head based at least in part on the adjusted stimulation configuration;
direct the operation of a plurality of stimulation transducers based at least in part on the adjusted stimulation configuration; and
apply stimulation to a plurality of target areas about a user's face and head, the target areas being selected based on the adjusted stimulation configuration.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation transducers comprise a laser emitter.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation transducers comprise a light-emitting diode.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation transducers transmit light to specific areas of a user's face.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the light transmitted is invisible to the user.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the light transmitted is in the infrared or near-infrared band.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the headgear is configured to be worn on the face of a human user.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the headgear comprises a pair of goggles.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the headgear comprises a hat.
10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the headgear comprises a virtual reality headset.
11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the emotion enhancement device comprises room-installed transducer and sensor assemblies.
12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of hardware sensors arranged about the emotion enhancement device, wherein the plurality of hardware sensors is configured to provide a plurality of sensor input cues to the processor.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the stimulation configuration is selected based at least in part on the plurality of sensor input cues.
14. A method for inducing emotional response through craniofacial stimulation, comprising the steps of:
placing an article of headgear on the head of a user, the article of headgear comprising:
one or more hardware sensors configured to detect environmental conditions near the article of headgear;
one or more stimulation transducers being arranged to correspond to a plurality of target areas about the face and head of a human user when the headwear is worn, wherein the plurality of stimulation transducers is configured to apply direct stimulation to the plurality of target areas; and
operating the article of headgear using an emotion enhancement device by:
receiving a signal from each of the one or more hardware sensors;
selecting a stimulation configuration based on a combination of the signals received from the one or more hardware sensors;
continuously adjusting the stimulation configuration based on the combination of signals from the one or more hardware sensors;
selecting a plurality of target areas about a user's face and head based at least in part on the adjusted stimulation configuration;
directing the operation of a plurality of stimulation transducers based at least in part on the adjusted stimulation configuration; and
applying stimulation to a plurality of target areas about a user's face and head, the target areas being selected based on the adjusted stimulation configuration.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising the steps of:
(e) receiving a plurality of input cues from a plurality of hardware sensors positioned about the emotion enhancement device; and
(f) selecting a stimulation configuration based at least in part on the plurality of input cues.
16. A method for automated adjustment of a craniofacial stimulation emotional response, comprising the steps of:
receiving a plurality of input cues from a plurality of hardware sensors positioned about an emotion enhancement device, the hardware sensors configured to detect environmental conditions near the article of headgear, and the emotion enhancement device comprising a plurality of stimulation transducers arranged about an article of headwear;
select a stimulation configuration based on a combination of the signals received from the one or more hardware sensors;
continuously adjust the stimulation configuration based on the combination of signals from the one or more hardware sensors;
apply stimulation through the stimulation transducers to a plurality of target areas about a user's face and head, the target areas being selected based on the adjusted stimulation configuration.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein adjustments are saved separately for each unique user.