Race and age influence on body language

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Hi everyone,

I'm CEO and Founder of an AI based hardware startup that treats Autism Spectrum Disorders. It's a wearable device that uses image recognition software and machine learning to read and detect body language and facial expressions of the people surrounding the user.

I'd like to know if race and age have any influence on body language, gestures, and facial expressions. For example, if a child and adult were to have the same exact body language and facial expressions, would they be expressing the same/similar feelings? Or different?

I can't even get my own race and age right through image recognition software, and I'm trying to discern whether to bother debugging it and including it as a factor or not.

P.S.
I'm the one on the left. I'm 22, and half Asian and half Hispanic.

This "research" seems a waste of time and resources which could be put to better use if you really want to make a difference to the lives of those on the spectrum.

People are individuals, not robots, and their body language and expressions can't be automatically determined by referring to their age or race. I think the results obtained by the device user would be unreliable at best because to start with there are many other factors involved. Someone may have had a bad day, or just been in an argument with someone else or even have a stomach ache and this would show up in their body language.

I can't agree more.

In addition to the problems with social context already mentioned, there certainly are cultural differences that might be very difficult to code for. For example, Japanese schoolchildren are taught that it is disrespectful to make eye contact with superiors and ancestors, and that they should look at the speakers neck or collar. How would the software know which people were due such respect in this context?

I would also advise you to tread very carefully with such context recognition for legal reasons. However well meaning your intentions, such "cultural context" profiling could easily be misinterpreted as "racial profiling" or discrimination.