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Imagine if a teacher could tell whether students in a classroom were having trouble with a lesson. Or what if there was an easy way to find out if your date really likes you?

Kang Lee, a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education’s Jackman Institute of Child Study, has developed a new technology that can answer these questions.

It’s all featured in a TED Talk released May 13 which highlights Lee’s research on lying, specifically in children, and his new hidden emotion-revealing technology.

Lee has been studying the science of lying for more than 20 years.In his TED Talk, which took place in Vancouver in February of this year, he showcases a new summary of his research that continues to demonstrate that not only do children lie, they do so by the age of 2.

His studies also show that kids who lie at an early age tend to be more advanced cognitively.  

Importantly, Lee’s TED Talk also sheds light – for the first time – on his new technology which reveals hidden human emotion.

In addition to education and dating, Lee also says the technology can be used to detect anxiety, whether or not a politician is lying, or if someone is responding positively or negatively to a product. The technology works with a video camera found in most cell phones, tablets and computer devices. It is non-invasive, inexpensive and can be used remotely.

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“In terms of lie detection, with this technology, because it can be used remotely, it can also be used covertly, so we could use it at the border or at the police station,” he said.

The technology could also offer benefits related to health care. For example, someone using Skype with an elderly parent could detect his or her heart rate, breathing, stress level and possibly his or her level of pain, or health risks.

Just as potential benefits of the technology quickly add up, Lee also recognizes that revealing hidden emotion could have major implications.

“It could change the way humans interact with each other. We need to have discussion about the ways in which this technology can and should be used in the future,” he said.

The product is not yet available to consumers, but Lee is working with Nuralogix, a Toronto-based startup company, to bring it to market.