Real-time emotion detection by quantitative facial motion analysis.

Background: Research into mood and emotion has often depended on slow and subjective self-report, highlighting a need for rapid, accurate, and objective assessment tools.

Methods: To address this gap, we developed a method using digital image speckle correlation (DISC), which tracks subtle changes in facial expressions invisible to the naked eye, to assess emotions in real-time. We presented ten participants with visual stimuli triggering neutral, happy, and sad emotions and quantified their associated facial responses via detailed DISC analysis.