Development of Optical Computer Recognition (OCR) for Monitoring Stress and Emotions in Space

INTRODUCTION. While in space, astronauts are required to perform mission-critical tasks on very expensive equipment at a high level of functional capability. Stressors can compromise their ability to do so, thus it is very important to have a system that can unobtrusively and objectively detect neurobehavioral problems involving elevated levels of behavioral stress and negative emotions. Computerized approaches involving inexpensive cameras offer an unobtrusive way to detect distress and to monitor observable emotions of astronauts during critical operations in space, by tracking and analyzing facial expressions and body gestures in video streams. Such systems can have applications beyond space flight, e.g., surveillance, law enforcement and human computer interaction.