A few weeks ago at work, as we were griping about the heat wave that seemed to be sweeping the world at large, the subject of air conditioning came up (naturally!). A co-worker mentioned that in Japan they are piloting a technology that can detect when an employee is starting to get sleepy based on eyelid movement and then blast them with cold air. Based on this data from sensors monitored to computer screens to measure eye movement, the air conditioning temperature will be lowered in an effort to use cold air to stimulate the employee and keep them alert. Some ethical questions at play here, but what caught my attention was a technology that could monitor eyelid movement. With BPES, I don’t have eyelids like most people. I am super curious if this technology would be able to register when my eyelids start to flutter and I get sleepy. I don’t think my eyelids really flutter when I am tired so now I’ll have to pay closer attention to this. It struck me as well that Asians tend to have smaller, narrower eyes further peaking my curiosity around if this technology is actually effective. I hope to never find out!