Alex Alpatov is one of Emvio’s co-creators, having researched biomedical devices for the last 12 years. He’s excited to share his experiences with Emvio’s alpha testing process.

Q: How does one test a watch designed to measure stress?

Alex: I used Emvio myself while watching two IMAX blockbusters: Transformers 4: Age of Extinction (3D) and Interstellar (2D). I wanted to see how Emvio would measure my physical reactions and compare the hard data to my subjective feelings. The results were very interesting.

Q: I’ve seen these movies myself - I was enthralled. How did Transformers 4 go?

Alex: I’ve been a fan of the Transformers since I was a kid watching the 1984 animated series and the very first Transformers movie in 1986. My 7-year-old loves the new animated series, so it’s a special thing for us to share. I’d been looking forward to the fourth installment of the series.  Overall, I didn’t like the movie much because the story was all over the place. But in terms of dynamism and special effects, I was not disappointed - it was non-stop action and I was in suspense.

Q: How did Emvio pick up on this?

Alex: Just look at the chart [below]. The measurements for Transformers 4: Age of Extinction are in red. Throughout the movie, my average stress measurement was 4.5 units, which is quite a lot for just sitting in movie theater. My stress level peaked at about 6.3, which coincides with the epic moment where Optimus Prime rides on top of a Dinobot.

Q: That’s incredible!

Alex: I was quite happy with how well Emvio performed. I chose Transformers 4: Age of Extinction also because I’ve heard that the director Michael Bay goes for sensory overload. All the fast editing and movement, mixed with the music - it definitely had an effect on me, as evidenced by Emvio’s measurements.

Q: I would think that Interstellar, a more introspective film, would have a different effect.

Alex: With Interstellar, it was like 3 hours of meditation among the stars and planets. The scenes with the black hole and the astronauts’ interaction with it were especially impressive. I’d done some research before on the physics in the movie, and the fact that it was scientifically accurate made those scenes significant to me. The visualization was beautiful, but I was bothered by some of the characters’ decisions. I had a hard time sympathizing with them. [On the chart, Interstellar is represented by the blue graph.] According to my Emvio measurements, my average stress was little more than 2 units.

You’ll see that my stress level gradually increased, and then it suddenly dropped - that’s where I dozed off for a bit! When the main character encounters five-dimensional space, and I attempted to understand what was happening, my stress levels rose to 4 units.

Q: It seems to be a good idea to choose such different films for Emvio’s first trials.

Alex: Emvio definitely proved itself. After Interstellar, my wife and I were silent for 20 minutes before we discussed what we’d seen. It was like a dream, just swaying in outer space, and Emvio was able to pick up on that.

Q: What’s next for Emvio?

Alex: We on the Emvio team are doing everything possible to bring Emvio to the greatest number of people as quickly as possible. It’s my hope that everyone will be able to measure his or her stress. And I look forward to the next phase and seeing others’ experiences with Emvio.

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