Emotion engine

Systems integrator Message One, Inc. has developed the Operator Plus - a system that can determine the emotions of people talking on the phone by analyzing their voices.  They call it an Emotion Analysis Engine.  It is meant to be used by companies that want to improve customer satisfaction with their call centers but Japanese writer and editor Akihiko Kobashi points out in his column on Nikkei Business Express that this system may be used for robots too.  It would be useful if robots understood the emotions of the people that they deal with so that they can act accordingly.