RageSense: Leveraging Acoustic Sensing and LLM-Based Intervention for Emotion Regulation in Mobile Gaming

RageSense introduces a novel system for detecting and regulating player frustration during mobile gaming. Instead of relying on coarse emotion labels, RageSense estimates users’ valence and arousal levels in real time using near-ultrasonic acoustic sensing. By analyzing facial muscle movements via built-in smartphone speakers and microphones, our approach enables emotion sensing without requiring cameras or wearables, constituting a more unobtrusive, environment-resilient, and privacy-friendly approach than traditional emotion recognition. To transform detection into action, we integrate a large language model (LLM) that generates empathetic, context-aware interventions based on gameplay screenshots, behavioral signals, and emotional trajectories. These interventions are delivered in real time, tailored to the user’s emotional state, and designed to mitigate rage while enhancing player well-being. In a 53-participant field study, our system improved emotional state immediately after triggers and was preferred over random or template-based messages. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of near-ultrasonic, on-phone valence-arousal regression during mobile gameplay that directly drives real-time, context-aware interventions.