By John P. Desmond, AI Trends
The emotion recognition software segment is projected to grow dramatically in coming years, spelling success for companies that have established a beachhead in the market, while causing some who are skeptical about its accuracy and fairness to raise red flags.
The global emotion detection and recognition market is projected to grow to $37.1 billion by 2026, up from an estimated $19.5 billion in 2020, according to a recent report from MarketsandMarkets. North America is home to the largest market.
Software suppliers covered in the report include: NEC Global (Japan), IBM (US), Intel (US), Microsoft (US), Apple (US), Gesturetek (Canada), Noldus Technology (Netherlands), Google (US), Tobii (Sweden), Cognitec Systems (Germany), Cipia Vision Ltd (Formerly Eyesight Technologies) (Israel), iMotions (Denmark), Numenta (US), Elliptic Labs (Norway), Kairos (US), PointGrab (US), Affectiva (US), nViso (Switzerland), Beyond Verbal (Israel), Sightcorp (Holland), Crowd Emotion (UK), Eyeris (US), Sentiance (Belgium), Sony Depthsense (Belgium), Ayonix (Japan), and Pyreos (UK).
Among the users of emotion recognition software today are auto manufacturers, who use it to detect drowsy drivers, and to identify whether the driver is engaged or distracted
Some question whether emotion recognition software is effective, and whether its use is ethical. One research study recently summarized in Sage journals is examining the assumption that facial expressions are a reliable indicator of emotional state.