RecoFriend is an intelligent wristband that can be worn at large events in which people could meet new social contacts. It facilitates social interaction by breaking the ice in starting a conversation with a stranger. The goal here is to increase people’s chances of meeting others that might have similar interest, but that they would not regularly talk to. RecoFriend plays the role of a recommendation device that shows individuals with a similar profile to your own. The wristband displays a color that is linked to a specific class of people. One class of people may have the same interest, personality, lifestyle, or any other feature that people could bond over. Your profile or class is retrieved from survey data that you fill out at the beginning of the event. This process is arranged and guided by the party that acquired or rented the wristbands, which will usually be the organizer of said social event.
In terms of matching, the recommendations of the wristband will change after having conversations with another person meaning that the system learns over time what one’s preferences are and what they might find important. During each conversation, the wristband measures the length of the conversation as an indicator of match success. This is done by starting a count after a handshake and end the measuring when the distance between the persons is far enough, that it can be concluded that their interactions ended. This additional data from different conversations could then potentially change your class or profile to more accurately match you with future partners.
