How EchoDepth works

The science behind emotional sales coaching.

44 FACS-compliant facial Action Units. VAD emotional state mapping. Real-time feedback. No specialist hardware. Here is exactly how EchoDepth reads and coaches emotional performance.

AI facial analysis visualization showing wireframe mesh overlay with emotional presence data points
Step 1

Capture

Standard webcam + microphone

EchoDepth uses your webcam and microphone. No VR headset. No depth sensor. No camera upgrade. A standard laptop at 720p works.

Scale needs simplicity. Special hardware creates procurement headaches. EchoDepth removes that barrier.

Hardware requirement
→Standard webcam (720p minimum)
→Standard microphone or headset
→Modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
✕VR headset — not required
✕Specialist sensor — not required
Facial Action Coding System diagram showing 44 Action Unit measurement points for emotional analysis
Sample Action Units detected
AU1
Inner brow raise
AU4
Brow lowerer
AU6
Cheek raiser
AU12
Lip corner puller
AU17
Chin raiser
AU23
Lip tightener

44 Action Units analysed simultaneously in real time

Step 2

Analyse 44 Action Units

FACS — Facial Action Coding System

The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) comes from Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen. It describes facial expressions through muscle movements. EchoDepth reads all 44 FACS Action Units in real time.

Why 44? Real confidence shows different muscle patterns than fake confidence. Brow, lip, cheek — they all tell a story. EchoDepth spots the difference. Reps cannot fake their way through it. And buyers read the same signals.

Step 3

Map to VAD emotional space

Valence · Arousal · Dominance

Action Units map to VAD (Valence, Arousal, Dominance). This model comes from Mehrabian and Russell's emotion research. Three dimensions describe any emotional state.

V
Valence

Positive or negative quality of the state. Confidence = high positive. Anxiety = low.

A
Arousal

Activation intensity. Both excitement and panic are high-arousal — they need different coaching.

D
Dominance

Perceived control and authority. The dimension buyers read when deciding whether to trust a rep.

VAD lets EchoDepth tell nervous energy from confident energy. They look similar on the surface. Buyers respond to them very differently.

VAD dimensional model visualization showing Valence, Arousal, and Dominance emotional space mapping
VAD state examples
High Confidence
V: 0.82 · A: 0.61 · D: 0.78
Nervous Energy
V: 0.31 · A: 0.79 · D: 0.24
Calm Authority
V: 0.71 · A: 0.44 · D: 0.82
Defensive Flatness
V: 0.29 · A: 0.22 · D: 0.31
AI processing pipeline from camera input through facial analysis to emotional presence scoring output
Session feedback output
Confidence74
Warmth81
Authority68
Coaching tip: Anchor authority earlier — pause before your first sentence and hold eye contact for 2 seconds before speaking.
Step 4

Deliver coaching feedback

Real-time scores + post-session guidance

VAD becomes three scores: Confidence, Warmth, and Authority. Reps see them live. Each score links to research on what makes buyers trust and commit.

After each session, EchoDepth shows what worked and what did not. It flags weak moments. It tells reps exactly what to fix next time.

  • Live confidence, warmth, authority scores during practice
  • Post-session report with moment-by-moment analysis
  • Specific, actionable coaching tip per session
  • Team aggregate data for sales leaders
Cultural calibration

14 cohorts. 6 countries.

Emotions work the same everywhere. But cultures express them differently. EchoDepth is tuned for 14 cultural groups across 6 countries. Global teams get accurate feedback — not just Western defaults.

Request access to see this in action

Technology FAQs

What are facial Action Units?

What are facial Action Units?
Facial Action Units (AUs) are the individual muscle movements that combine to form facial expressions. The Facial Action Coding System (FACS), developed by Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen, identifies 44 discrete AUs that can be reliably observed and measured. EchoDepth analyses all 44 in real time.
What is the VAD model?
VAD (Valence, Arousal, Dominance) is a three-dimensional framework for representing emotional state. Valence = positive/negative. Arousal = intensity. Dominance = perceived control. VAD is more nuanced than binary classification — it lets EchoDepth distinguish, for example, between anxious activation and confident activation, which produce completely different buyer responses.
How does EchoDepth differ from facial recognition?
EchoDepth analyses patterns of muscle movement (Action Units) to infer emotional state. It does not identify who someone is and stores no biometric identity data. It is a coaching tool, not a surveillance tool. All analysis is voluntary and in-session only.
What hardware is required?
Standard webcam (720p minimum) and microphone. No VR headset, no depth sensor, no specialist hardware. Works on any enterprise laptop with Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.
Does the same technology apply outside sales — for employee sentiment?
Yes. The FACS and VAD methodology behind EchoDepth is applied to measure employee sentiment in organisational contexts — culture surveys, people analytics, and workforce emotional health — through the EchoDepth Insight platform. See: how to measure employee sentiment using emotional AI →

See the technology in action.

Request access to the early access programme and experience how 44 Action Units translate into coaching that changes how your team sells.

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