Neural Network Based Emotion Estimation Using Heart Rate Variability and Skin Resistance

In order to build a human-computer interface that is sensitive to a user’s expressed emotion, we propose a neural network based emotion estimation algorithm using heart rate variability (HRV) and galvanic skin response (GSR). In this study, a video clip method was used to elicit basic emotions from subjects while electrocardiogram (ECG) and GSR signals were measured. These signals reflect the influence of emotion on the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The extracted features that are emotion-specific characteristics from those signals are applied to an artificial neural network in order to recognize emotions from new signal collections. Results show that the proposed method is able to accurately distinguish a user’s emotion.