The World Is Turning Upside Down: Book Covers Judge You Now
We've known for quite a while now that judging a book by its cover is wrong. I'm not saying that we don't keep doing it, but we are aware that it's not right. Now we get to see how things feel on the other end of the magnifying glass, as our book covers will judge us instead. The Cover That Judges You is a project created by Thijs Biersteker which aims to ensure that you approach every book that you open with an open mind.
This new cover embeds a micro camera, facial recognition technology and an Arduino-controlled bolt. The camera scans your facial expression and only instructs the bolt to open if it doesn't detect any skepticism, enthusiasm or other states of mind that would decrease your objectivity towards the book. I'm guessing that if your poker face is solid, you won't have any trouble opening the book, but there are many others who won't be so lucky.
Judgmental Cover
At the moment, the project is only in its experimental phase so I can't give you too many in-depth details. It would seem that the software's biggest tell for your facial expression is the mouth, but I'm not 100% sure that I'm right about that. The cover also comes with a screen where it displays your face inside its recognition pattern. If it becomes "a thing", this cover isn't designed specifically for a certain book so anyone who wants his or her book judged solely by its content can use it.
I'm pretty sure that this prototype has its flaws as certain people who look permanently happy or constantly upset may no longer be able read the books they want to, but overall it seems like a really interesting idea.
