Wired:

This is amazing. Zdenek Kalal, a student at University of Surrey, England, has developed an object-tracking software named ‘Predator’. It is uncanny. As a biomedical engineer, I am familiar with the development of these algorithms and the difficulties that they entail. Kalal’s solution works flawlessly in a number of tricky scenarios that really show the power of his software:

After telling it what to look for (by dragging a box over the onscreen image) the Predator gets to work. Within seconds it can recognize patterns, objects and faces and track them as they shrink, grow and rotate. When Kalal hides from the camera and holds up a sheet of paper with his photo among a patchwork of thumbnails, Predator picks his face out immediately.

This technology could help a great deal in the development of many exciting new applications. The possibilities are endless.

Seeing it work, it’s almost scary. Certainly, the name ‘Predator’ seems appropriate, though it does very little to ease my concerns. I swear, the day that someone decides to launch a new product named ‘Skynet)’ I will retreat to the North Pole with nothing but a fishing rod and a bottle of vodka.

Via @LettersOfNote.