3:32 PM

Wired News: A Way Out of Automated Phone Hell:

Getting transferred from one automated message to another while stuck in a company’s convoluted telephone system is enough to make even the most unflappable individual’s blood boil.

A solution that may prevent violence against handsets comes in the form of a new software program designed to detect callers’ frustration and transfer them to a human operator.

The system works by analyzing not only what callers say, but also how they say it. Callers get transferred if they start to spit out expletives or if they simply sound angry.