Member company Dentsu and the Affective Computing research group have been collaborating on a research project to use smartphone and driving-related data to investigate the association between depression severity and driving activity, and potentially use this information to predict depression. Previous research has shown a correlation between driving frequency and depression in older adults; driving less is associated with physical, emotional, and cognitive decline, as well as rising levels of depression. The Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted this effect, as lockdowns and business closures kept many people at home in 2020 and 2021. 

In the video below, Affective Computing group head Rosalind Picard, researchers Neska Elhaouij and Szymon Fedor, and Dentsu liaison Takeshi Goto discuss their ongoing collaboration and talk about what comes next.