Think you can keep a straight face while watching your favourite comedian?
A comedy club in Barcelona is betting you can't, and it is even basing its ticket prices on how often it can make you laugh.
Teatreneu has installed facial-recognition technology on the back of its chairs to track how much each person in their theatre has enjoyed the show.
One laugh will cost you €0.30 (NZ50 cents), and customers could face a maximum charge of €24 (NZ$38).
The system was dreamt up by Barcelona-based advertising agency The Cyranos McCann, after Teatreneu asked them to think up a way to increase ticket sales.
A number of people have tried, and reportedly failed, to sit through a comedy show without laughing in an attempt to get a free ticket.
Using the novel system, the average ticket price per person has so far been €6 (NZ$9.70).
It seems the pricing system has caught on, with other theatres in Spain now copying the pay-per-laugh technology.
It is unclear which facial recognition software is being used, but most use algorithms to track facial landmarks on a subject's face.
For instance, an algorithm can analyse the position, size or shape of the mouth to determine whether a person is laughing, smiling or sad.
The comedy club has also launched a mobile app as a method of payment and a pay-per-laugh season ticket.
Watch:
App users: Tap here to watch the video.
- Daily Mail