Affective Computing: Historical Foundations, Current Applications, and Future Trends

Abstract Affective computing relates to, arises from, or intentionally influences emotion. It is a continuously growing multidisciplinary field that explores how technology can inform an understanding of human affect, how interactions between humans and technologies can be impacted by affect, how systems can be designed to utilize affect to enhance capabilities, and how sensing and affective strategies can transform human and computer interaction. Encompassing disciplines, such as engineering, psychology, education, cognitive science, sociology, and others; this chapter explores some of the historical foundations and general goals of affective computing, approaches to affect detection and generation, applications, ethical considerations, and future directions.