Mobile app developed by faculty, student could detect signs of depression

A computer science faculty member and student are in the early stages of developing a mobile app that could detect if a person is showing signs of depression based on the tone of their voice.

Rahat Rafiq, assistant professor of computing, is an expert on cyberbullying. He said his inspiration to research and develop an app comes from personal experience.

"When I moved from Bangladesh to Boulder, Colorado, for my Ph.D., I had never seen snow before, I was new to this country," Rafiq said. "All these things led to anxiety and a lot of stress. At one point, I wanted to stop my doctoral work and go home."

While at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Rafiq researched the prevalence of social media cyberbullying. He continues similar work at Grand Valley, including researching a mobile app for parents that would monitor their children's social media activity and notify them of potential cyberbullying occurrences.

For the app that could detect signs of depression, Rafiq said a person's voice indicates their level of engagement and excitement during conversations with other people. 

"What I imagine this app could do is detect decibel levels and if this same tone goes on for a long period of time, it signals that this particular person may need mental health resources," he said.

At the start of the fall semester, Rafiq introduced himself and his projects to students and asked if anyone was interested in helping with research. Aliah Lloyd said yes.

Lloyd is a senior majoring in computer science, with minors in business and Chinese studies. During high school, Lloyd was a member of PALS, a program that trains students in suicide prevention.

"Mental health has always been an important part of my life," Lloyd said. "After that class, I pitched my passion, background and ideas. Professor Rafig immediately told me that he wanted me on his team."

Lloyd is currently in Taiwan on a study abroad program. Any spare time she has, Lloyd works on the app project by interviewing students and mental health professionals to collect data on what features could be included.

"My hope is that this project will end up helping students understand their own mental health and give them resources if they need help," she said.