Angelo soothes stressed call centre workers

Italian researchers have designed a computer to reduce call centre stress levels.

The system is called Angelo and it measures call centre employees' heart rates at the same time as monitoring the number of calls each worker takes. Angelo works by monitoring people's heart rate, through a sensor inside their earpieces. Another sensor can be attached to a worker's finger to measure perspiration, which is said to be further indication of stress.

The system then compares the most recent readings to profiles produced from previous tests. If Angelo finds out a worker is stressed, it then tries to reduce the number of calls or emails put through. The system can be even connected to the air conditioning system to calm workers down.

Angelo was invented by Fabrizio Davide, a researcher at Telecom Italia. "There is an urgent need to improve and 'humanise' stressful computer-based work. The Angelo project brings together a multidisciplinary grouping of industrial partners and academic researchers that are set on revolutionising the call-centre industry," he told the New Scientist.