Positive Lab: Intentional Visualization of Positive Emotions in Everyday Face-to-Face Communication

Recent developments in biometric data acquisition, artificial intelligence, and the widespread adoption of extended reality (XR) devices have facilitated the emergence of various technologies for emotion visualization. However, research focused specifically on daily face-to-face communication is scarce. The visualization of emotions carries the risk of privacy infringement, and displaying all emotions does not necessarily facilitate communication. In particular, individuals may wish to avoid displaying negative emotions. Additionally, users feel discomfort if they cannot control the visualization of their emotions. Therefore, this study introduces an everyday face-to-face communication support service called “Positive Lab,” which focuses on positive emotions. This service constructs a system that displays “emotion objects” in augmented reality (AR) space by using the user’s gesture as a trigger, which allows users to express their emotions whenever they want. Experimental results suggest that the system facilitates emotional transmission, enhances the communication experience, and amplifies positive emotions, revealing the usefulness of the service. Moreover, the potential applications of the service were demonstrated.