Cue | Devpost

Inspiration

human conversations are full of subtle signals that most people interpret subconsciously using tone of voice, response timing, conversational balance and change in vocal intensity which influence how one is comfortable or engaged during an interaction. However these signals can be difficult to recognized.

What it does

Cue analyzes conversational patterns and translate them into simple visual feedback that users can quickly interpret. with this it comes with 3 modes social radar: shows how individuals in a conversation appear to be responding, conversation meter: tracks speaking balance between participants to show if the conversation is balanced and emotional tone bar, represents the overall atmosphere of the conversation. these are all shown based of 4 bold colors, blue, red, yellow and green

How we built it

we began by identifying human sensory experience social cue perception these signals are sensed subconsciously but rarely measured, then we explored how these signals can be translated into measurable patterns such as speechmaking, reposting timing, interruptions and vocal intensity then we transfer these signals to a color coded map, green: engagement, yellow: neutrality, blue: confusion and red: tension. the system interface was designed as a wearable device with the three primary screen Social Radar, Conversation Meter, and Emotional Tone Bar. Each screen presents a different perspective on the interaction while maintaining a consistent visual language.

Challenges we ran into

one of the biggest challenges was determining how a device could interpret social signals realistically. since human emotion are complex and cannot be detected with complete certainty. To address this we reframed the system as a tool that interprets conversational patterns rather than directly detecting emotion. Another challenge was designing an interface that communicates meaningful information on a small wearable display.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

we successfully designed a cohesive system that visualize an aspect of human perception that is normally invisible. The combination of Social Radar, Conversation Meter, and Emotional Tone Bar provides multiple perspectives on a conversation while maintaining a consistent interface language. We are particularly proud of transforming subtle conversational dynamics into simple visual signals that can be understood at a glance.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned how complex human communication really is many aspect of social interaction occur below the level of conscious awareness, making them difficult to measure or visualize for those who doesn't have the ability or isn't confident when it comes to social awareness. This project reinforced the importance of empathy in design. Technology should support human understanding rather than replace it.

What's next for Cue

Future versions of Cue could expand beyond real time interaction feedback to include long-term insights about communication patterns. Over time, the system could help users reflect on how their conversational behavior changes across different environments. Additional sensors and machine learning models could improve the system’s ability to detect conversational dynamics while maintaining user privacy. Cue ultimately explores how technology might help people develop a deeper awareness of the subtle signals that shape human interaction.