Developers behind the Eliza app want to simplify tracking of one’s psychological well-being by making it as easy as speaking to a phone. And that’s exactly how the Eliza app works — it asks users to record a voice memo, which could include either a problem they’re facing or simply a reflection on their day. From there, the app turns the speech into text that’s ready for sentiment analysis.

That analysis is returned to the user in the form of an easy to grasp infographic that shows users whether they sound happy and calm, or maybe stressed and in need of support from friends and/or therapists. Over time, users get to see how they’ve been feeling ever since they’ve started using Eliza.

The idea behind the app is sound – it lets people be heard and, if needed, be guided to a professional who could help them solve their psychological problems. Users can also share their feelings and notes with a licensed therapist, if they fancy so.

Developers Kathryn Hodge, a junior at Vassar College, and Tae Hong Min, a senior at Lehigh University, used IBM Watson and Twilio technology to create the app. Their goal is to turn this project into a company, and make it available for free to help mental health researchers.

Along the way, they also want to de-stigmatize mental health problems and therapy. “Sometimes you are in self denial that you have an issue, but if you have something in the palm of your hand feeding it back to you, objectively, you can’t deny it,” Min said.

The team has competed at hackathons before and intends to keep doing so.

[Via: TechCrunch]