Computer technology company Dell, Inc. is developing a mood-reading program that could be launched as early as 2017.

Dell Research is currently toiling on a program that aims to exactly identify a user's mood, said Jaishankar Menon, the head of Dell's new research and development division.

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Dell wants to develop software for brain activity headsets that could accurately identify a wearer's emotional state.

He sees the technology used both at home and in the office.

A Dell team is figuring out if headsets made by NeuroSky, Inc. can provide a correct indication of whether a user is happy, sad or bored, among other emotions.

Menon said the technology can be applied in an office where it could increase productivity if coupled with an intuitive computer system.

He said that if someone is playing a game and the mood-reading program senses that person is bored, it could automatically make the game more difficult, or vice versa.

The system can also be used for gaming, which Dell is already exploiting with its Alienware PCs. 

Microsoft is also developing its own mood-reading software with research projects such as Moodscope, a program that figures out a user's mental state from the use of his smartphone.

Then, there's Microsoft's "smart bra" that measures skin and heart activity.

TagsDell, emotion, mood, Tech, technology