Researcher Miguel Bruns Alonso has developed a pen which can measure the stress levels of a person using it, and can actually help to reduce that stress.According to the inventor, the prototype pen is able to spot short-term stress in a person that uses it and then reduce some of that stress.
Based upon the obvious premise that people play with their writing utensils when anxious, the pen uses motion sensors instead of more conventional means of stress detection. When the pen detects stressful movements, internal electromagnets provide corresponding counter-motion feedback to stop your nervous tics. During experiments, the pen did diminish test subjects’ heart rates around five percent, but according to feedback none of them actually “felt” less stressed.
The pen isn’t yet commercially available.
