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A startup raises $13.5 million...Imagination is crossing all the boundaries to prove that nothing is impossible today in the era of innovation. Not even reading peoples’ brain! Yes, a startup called Spark Neuro has come up with a technology to record human emotions while watching movies or ads. It helps companies study the audiences’ response and reaction while they are watching a film or any video for that matter. The startup has even raised $13.5 million for the idea.
According to Spencer Gerrol, founder, and CEO of Spark Neuro, the goal of the company is to replace things like focus groups and surveys, which tend to be biased and sometimes even compelling to respond what the researchers wish to hear. He showed that how Mr. Clean ad that had performed poorly as per the focus group’s opinion, actually was well received by the audience and ended up being one of the best-received ads at last year’s Super Bowl.
There are a few startups that use technology like eye tracking and facial recognition to measure and study peoples’ reaction. Similar technology is being used by Spark Neuro, but they understand that these are insufficient to give a precise answer, hence the company also looks at the brain and electrodermal activities.
The EEG data (i.e. the data about the electrical activity in the brain) offers depth and richness in the observation. But the challenge is to avoid the noise generated. Hence, Spark Neuro has developed tools to cancel noise and make the data understandable. It is not enough to just rely on the technology, hence the researchers also do one-on-one interviews with participants after they record their emotions.
The technology can have millions of applications; it can potentially even measure students’ attention in the classroom!