Latest news with #Emobot
Time of India
3 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
New AI app claims it can read your mind through your face. Here's how
At a time when mental health awareness is on the rise and technology is more personal than ever, a new artificial intelligence application is blurring the line between self-care and surveillance. Emobot , a French medical tech startup, has developed an app that uses facial recognition to monitor emotional states—just from your smartphone's selfie camera. The app is already being used by hundreds of patients, mainly in France, where it is classified as a medical device. According to The Metro , Emobot tracks facial expressions throughout the day and creates emotion graphs much like a fitness tracker logs steps or heart rate. The goal? To help psychiatrists monitor mood swings, gauge treatment effectiveness, and even detect early signs of relapse in patients battling depression. It Watches You—But Not Like You Think Understandably, the idea of an app that keeps your camera running in the background all day might raise some eyebrows. Emobot co-founder Samuel Lerman admitted to The Metro that the team was initially "skeptical" about user acceptance. 'The camera is open in the background all the time,' he explained. 'However, the feedback was pretty good.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks Undo To address privacy concerns, Lerman clarified that no visual data is transmitted to a central server or stored. All AI processing takes place locally on the user's phone, and any images are immediately deleted after analysis. In its next iteration, the app may also analyze users' voice tones through the phone's microphone to gather more data on emotional well-being. The Face of Future Healthcare? When Metro reporter Jen Mills tested Emobot's emotion recognition tech at the VivaTech conference in Paris, the live facial analysis software identified her as 'pleased' and 'bored' at the same time—highlighting the complex spectrum of human emotion the app attempts to map. MORE STORIES FOR YOU ✕ « Back to recommendation stories I don't want to see these stories because They are not relevant to me They disrupt the reading flow Others SUBMIT Lerman believes Emobot is a breakthrough in mental health diagnostics. 'It helps doctors track patients' responses to treatment as well as detect sudden deterioration of their mood,' he said. It could serve as a real-time warning system for depression and burnout, particularly for users at high risk of relapse. Emobot's launch comes amid a larger trend within the tech world, where mental health is becoming a central focus. At VivaTech 2025, which featured over 14,000 startups from 50 countries, AI-powered healthcare solutions were among the most discussed innovations. The surge in interest reflects a growing belief that digital tools can—and should—be used to support mental well-being in daily life.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Your Phone's Selfie Camera Can Now Detect Depression. Here's How
A new technology is emerging that utilises the front-facing camera on devices to analyse emotions and monitor mental health. An app called Emobot is already being used by hundreds of patients to track their mood and assess the effectiveness of their depression treatment. The app analyses facial expressions throughout the day and generates a report, similar to a step count or heart rate graph. According to co-founder Samuel Lerman, Emobot is classified as a medical device in France, and the company is collaborating with psychiatrists to prescribe it to patients. According to The Metro, the team was initially afraid people would find this too intrusive, given the app constantly watches you, and a future version will even listen to your tone of voice as you go about your day via the phone microphone. Mr Lerman said, "The camera is open in the background all the time." So we were a bit skeptical about that aspect; however, the feedback was pretty good." He told The Metro that no photos from the camera are transmitted to a central database or stored, as they are processed locally by AI on the user's phone and deleted. This technology is similar to that being developed for office workers to check if they are really sitting at their computer or if they appear tired. We tried the emotion mapping software on display at the VivaTech conference in Paris, and a real-time image showed reporter Jen Mills as appearing both 'pleased' and 'bored' at the same time. Mr Lerman said the app helps doctors track patients' responses to treatment as well as 'detect sudden deterioration of their mood' and relapse risk. The focus on mental well-being was also evident at VivaTech 2025, where over 14,000 startups from more than 50 countries gathered. While artificial intelligence (AI) dominated the event, many of the most discussed innovations used AI and technology to improve healthcare and mental health, signalling a growing prioritisation of mental health in the tech industry.
Metro
5 days ago
- Health
- Metro
Now your phone can tell if you have depression using the selfie camera
The app will track your emotions throughout the day (Picture: Jen Mills/Emobot) Most of us stare at our phone or computer for hours every day – and soon, it could be staring back. New technology to monitor mental health works by analysing emotions throughout the day using the front-facing camera, producing a daily report similar to step count or a heart rate graph. Hundreds of patients are already using an app called Emobot to track their mood, seeing if their depression is getting worse or responding to treatment. Co-founder Samuel Lerman told Metro that it is classed as a medical device in France, and they are working with psychiatrists to prescribe it to patients. To work as a mood 'thermometer', the app takes a picture of your face every second, and categorises if you're feeling energised, pleased, happy, content, relaxed, bored, sad, or angry using a heat map. Metro reporter Jen Mills looked mostly 'pleased' and 'bored' while visiting the stand, according to the algorithm (Picture: Jen Mills) The team were initially afraid people would find this too intrusive, given the app constantly watches you, and a future version will even listen to your tone of voice as you go about your day via the phone microphone. Mr Lerman said: 'The camera is open in the background all the time. So we were a bit skeptical about that aspect, however the feedback was pretty good.' He said that no photos from the camera are transmitted to a central database or stored, as they are processed locally by AI on the user's phone and deleted. This technology is similar to that being developed for office workers, to check if they are really sitting at their computer, or if they appear tired. We tried the emotion mapping software on display at the Viva Tech conference in Paris, and a realtime image showed reporter Jen Mills as appearing both 'pleased' and 'bored' at the same time. Click to enlarge: Insights shown to the user about their state of mind (Picture: Emobot) Mr Lerman said the app helps doctors track patients' response to treatment as well as 'detect sudden deterioration of their mood' and relapse risk. He said it could also speed up diagnosis of longterm mental health conditions, such as distinguishing bipolar disorder from depression, which can take years to recognise. For now, it is used in clinical settings, but he sees potential for it to be used by the general public in future too if they want to monitor their mood. Would you use an emotion tracker? No, I won't use any kind of health tracker I'd use a physical health tracker but not this Yes, to get an overall picture of my health To train the algorithm on how to recognise emotions, they asked patients to fill out questionaires on their state of mind while using it. Questionaires on mood are currently the main method of diagnosing mood disorders. They also trained the AI on open source information, and are conducting clinical trials into biomarkers of depression, to improve the accuracy of the results. To get a wider picture of a person's mental state, they also plan to integrate information like sleep, step count, and even the weather. It might sound dystopian to have your phone constantly taking photos of you, but some see it as a logical next step when we track so much of our health already, such as an Apple Watch measuring heart rate variabilty, sleep cycles and wrist temperature. Having such sensitive data collected and digitised also poses a risk, but this is one that all health apps must grapple with — including the NHS, which was hit by a damaging cyber attack last year. Click to enlarge: A graph showing a bipolar patient's transition from mania to depression (Picture: Emobot) Mental health apps were a theme of the Viva Tech conference, Europe's biggest tech event. They are seen as a potential way to address the current shortages in professional help, with many on long waiting lists, or limited by living too far away from treatment. Tech offering AI therapists, remote monitoring, and self help is booming, with investors identifying this and similar as a key growth area that could go from being worth £5.5 billion in 2025 to £17.5 billion by 2032. Michel Treskow, a partner at venture capital firm Eight Roads Ventures, told a panel his company was already investing in the field: 'There is a fundamental shortage of supply practitioners, funding, and time. We believe technology can help address all of these issues to some degree.' Emobot's stand, pictured at the Viva Tech conference in Paris last week (Picture: Jen Mills/Metro) Comparing mental health tech to self-driving Waymo taxis (already a familiar sight in southern California), he said there was an open question about how much tech could replace or add to traditional mental health treatment. 'There are still plenty of people out there who don't want to take a Waymo and would rather stick with somebody driving the car,' he said. 'The question is, is it just as safe? If the answer is yes, then it becomes a choice. If it's not as safe, we ought not to do it.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. 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Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
VivaTech: Mental health innovations take centre stage at Europe's largest tech fair
VivaTech opened its doors this Wednesday in Paris, marking the start of Europe's most important tech and startup annual event. With more than 165,000 expected visitors and nearly 14,000 startups from over 50 countries, the ninth edition of the event is set to be the biggest yet. Just like last year, artificial intelligence (AI) is the star of the show. But this time, some of the most attention-grabbing innovations are those applying AI and tech to health care and mental well-being. 'Artificial intelligence is moving from science fiction to real-life application. And visitors will discover with the more than 13,000 start-ups what it is going to mean for business, for our everyday lives and our democracies," said François Bitouzet, Director General of VivaTech. There is a geopolitical context that is incredible in which tech and AI play a role, and we will analyse this during the next four days," he told Euronews. In a year marked by increasing geopolitical tensions and debates around technological sovereignty, Europe is looking to assert itself as a key player in AI innovation. But the tech fair also serves as a platform to explore how this technology can help address deeply human challenges. One such example is Emobot, a French startup developing an AI-powered tool that helps monitor mood disorders through a patient's facial expressions and voice. 'It's an app that is installed on the phone and on the computer. We analyse facial expressions every second while the patient uses their phone throughout the day," explained Antony Perzo, co-founder and CTO of Emobot."We also analyse their voice. Then, we aggregate this data to monitor for symptoms of depression. All this data, we put it together and then make a dashboard for the doctor that allows them to follow the evolution of the mood disorder symptoms," he told Euronews. All this information is combined to generate a dashboard for doctors, allowing them to track the evolution of symptoms remotely. 'Psychiatry is one of the few disciplines where we can't visualise disorders. In other areas of medicine, we have MRIs or imaging tools. We wanted to create the first device capable of tracking and visualising mood symptoms over time. Think of it as a sort of thermometer for mental health', he said. Another mental health startup, AMOI, blends neuroscience with perfume to shift a person's mood in just minutes. Whether you're looking for focus, calm, energy or joy, AMOI claims its neuro-fragrances can deliver results within five minutes. With more than one in four people reporting feeling mentally unwell, AMOI's founder Pascale Fontaine, says her project is about offering accessible and enjoyable tools for emotional well-being. VivaTech runs until 14 June at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris.
Euronews
11-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Mental health innovations take centre stage at VivaTech Paris
VivaTech opened its doors this Wednesday in Paris, marking the start of Europe's most important tech and startup annual event. With more than 165,000 expected visitors and nearly 14,000 startups from over 50 countries, the ninth edition of the event is set to be the biggest yet. Just like last year, artificial intelligence (AI) is the star of the show. But this time, some of the most attention-grabbing innovations are those applying AI and tech to health care and mental well-being. 'Artificial intelligence is moving from science fiction to real-life application. And visitors will discover with the more than 13,000 start-ups what it is going to mean for business, for our everyday lives and our democracies," said François Bitouzet, Director General of VivaTech. There is a geopolitical context that is incredible in which tech and AI play a role, and we will analyse this during the next four days," he told Euronews. In a year marked by increasing geopolitical tensions and debates around technological sovereignty, Europe is looking to assert itself as a key player in AI innovation. But the tech fair also serves as a platform to explore how this technology can help address deeply human challenges. One such example is Emobot, a French startup developing an AI-powered tool that helps monitor mood disorders through a patient's facial expressions and voice. 'It's an app that is installed on the phone and on the computer. We analyse facial expressions every second while the patient uses their phone throughout the day," explained Antony Perzo, co-founder and CTO of Emobot. "We also analyse their voice. Then, we aggregate this data to monitor for symptoms of depression. All this data, we put it together and then make a dashboard for the doctor that allows them to follow the evolution of the mood disorder symptoms," he told Euronews. All this information is combined to generate a dashboard for doctors, allowing them to track the evolution of symptoms remotely. 'Psychiatry is one of the few disciplines where we can't visualise disorders. In other areas of medicine, we have MRIs or imaging tools. We wanted to create the first device capable of tracking and visualising mood symptoms over time. Think of it as a sort of thermometer for mental health', he said. Another mental health startup, AMOI, blends neuroscience with perfume to shift a person's mood in just minutes. Whether you're looking for focus, calm, energy or joy, AMOI claims its neuro-fragrances can deliver results within five minutes. With more than one in four people reporting feeling mentally unwell, AMOI's founder Pascale Fontaine, says her project is about offering accessible and enjoyable tools for emotional well-being. VivaTech runs until 14 June at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris. The European debate on children's access to social media networks has begun, with three EU Member States promoting the idea of a "digital majority" or the age below which it would be forbidden to connect to such platforms. For France, Spain and Greece, the goal is to protect minors from dangerous online content. "Today, in the terms and conditions of use of these platforms, there is already a minimum age of 13," explains Clara Chappaz, the French Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy. However, Chappaz says: "We've all been children, it's very easy to change your date of birth. And so the current system means that, on average, children are logging on and creating accounts from the age of 7-8." France, Spain and Greece believe that the algorithms used by social networks expose the very young to addictive content that can ultimately lead to increased anxiety or depression. They also argue that excessive exposure may limit the development of certain skills and impair cognitive abilities. The EU currently has legislation in place in the form of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which tackles illegal online content such as hate speech, terrorism and child pornography. The law has been in place for almost two years for larger platforms and search engines, and just over a year for smaller organisations. But for industry representatives in Brussels, new legislation appears premature. "We believe that the new rules must first be properly applied. We haven't yet seen all the effects," says Constantin Gissler, Managing Director of Dot Europe, which represents online services and platforms in Brussels. "I think it's a bit hasty at this stage to be already discussing new rules and I think it's also very important that we take more account of the reality and implications for minors of such a ban," he adds. Paris, Madrid and Athens are also proposing the integration of age verification and parental control systems for devices connected to the Internet. The European Commission is currently working on an age verification application. Last month it published draft guidelines to protect minors, such as measures to verify the age of users or to set children's accounts as private by default. It is also conducting investigations against TikTok, Instagram and Facebook in relation to the protection of minors.
