A complete virtual instrument for measuring and analyzing human stress in real time

Abstract

A virtual Instrument is designed, prototyped and developed for the real time measurement and recording of galvanic skin response (GSR), also known as electrodermal response to recognize human psycho physiological state under stressed condition. The virtual instrument also analyzes the galvanic skin response signals by statistical features. The Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) is a measure of skin conductivity which is extensively linked to human emotional condition during stress and activation. An emotional reaction under stressed condition often causes increased sweat gland activity in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, making the skin more conductive in these areas. The experiments are done under stress and no-stress conditions on 14 subjects of both the gender in the age group of 18 to 28 years old, mainly on university students. The experimental observations demonstrate a strong correlation between measured signals for galvanic skin response (GSR) and human physiological states. LabVIEW software is used for the front panel of the virtual instrument whereas MATLAB software is used for the calculation of features in the back end of the virtual instrument.