I’ve always thought cell phones were already pretty good at conveying emotion… they certainly get the point across when commander Sal is hurling obscenities at me through one.

Apparently, though, the Japanese didn’t quite agree: a team of researchers from Japan’s University of Tokyo have developed a technology which they say will not just aurally convey emotions between cell phones, but physically convey them as well.

The technology uses both a sensor and a Peltier device to read your palm. When you become upset during a phone call, the cell phone detects the changes in the electrical resistance of your palm, sends the data to the handset of the person you are talking to, which in turn causes that person’s phone to heat-up, conveying that you are angry, excited or surprised.

The lag’s actually pretty good: the researchers claim a latency of just under two seconds. The temperature range of their Peltier device is between nine degrees celsius above room temperature and 3.6 degrees celsius below room temperature.

It’s interesting tech, but not exactly something I would imagine anyone using. If you’re being yelled at over the phone, the last thing you want to do is convey anything besides complete and total calm to the person freaking out on the other end.

Anyway, who really wants a cell phone that burns as hot as your temper? Cell phones have plenty of heat issues as it is.

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