I propose that facial recognition technology be applied to the recognition of plant and animal species. Take the camera (and laptop if desired) into the forest and snap pictures of various types of shrubbery, for example. The plant recognition technology would allow one to bring pictures and descriptions of this shrubbery to the Knights who say Ni before you bring the physical shrubbery in order to minimize the amount of time spent in a dangerous return trek through the wood in search of the correct landscaping decoration. For more mundane tasks the device would be good for research, educational reporting,and purely for fun.
-- Sunstone, Jun 11 2007

Knights who say Ni http://en.wikipedia.../Knights_who_say_Ni
[theleopard, Jun 11 2007]

Google Goggles is now recognizing non facial images http://www.business...gle-goggles-2009-12
You take a picture of an object, Google's software recognizes it, and searches for it online [Sunstone, May 09 2010]

What kind of tree is that? There's now an app for that! https://youtu.be/vLryEcw7who
Apps are: Virginia Tech Tree ID, Leafsnap, NatureGate [Sunstone, Nov 06 2015]

Google Smartphones Recognize Objects, Faces http://blogs.wsj.co...es-recognize-faces/
[Sunstone, Jan 27 2016]

If the plant in front of you has a face, chances are it's too late and you shouldn't have eaten that mushroom you found earlier.

Knights of Ni?
-- jutta, Jun 11 2007


[jutta] The dreaded Knigts that say 'Ni', from Monty Python and The Holy Grail, demand King Arthur bring them a shrubbery to appease them. Hilarity ensues. [linkage]
-- theleopard, Jun 11 2007


Very few plants have faces, and for those that do, perhaps you could just politely ask their names.
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jun 11 2007


I think a razor-sharp herring is in order.
-- DrWorm, May 09 2010


[+] also useful for the annual "Wot's that eating the grass *this* bloody year ?" contest which I hold every summer.
-- FlyingToaster, May 09 2010


[+], but I think it would be difficult to implement. Facial recognition relies on the fact that certain features such as eyes and lips tend to be found in predictable arrangements and quantities*, providing a frame of reference.

(Outside Norfolk).
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 06 2015



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