Security cameras that watch you, and predict what you'll do next, sound like science fiction. But a team from Carnegie Mellon University says their computerized surveillance software will be capable of eventually predicting what you're going to do.

Computerized surveillance can predict what people will do next -- it's called activity forecasting -- and eventually sound the alarm if the action is not permitted.

(Credit: Carnegie Mellon University)

Fallible humans who monitor surveillance cameras could eventually be replaced by Computer software

A pair of Carnegie Mellon University researchers who disclosed details about their work this week -- including that it has an ultimate goal of predicting what people will do in the future have the funding of The U.S Government to develop the automatic video surveillance technology.

"The main applications are in video surveillance, both civil and military," a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon Alessandro Oltramari, who has a Ph.D. from Italy's University of Trento says.

Suspicious activities such as a someone at a bus station or airport leaving a bag for more than a few minutes can be monitored by automatic video surveillance monitoring camera feeds.

In all it’s a much smarter version of a red light camera. The never closed eye of computer software that monitors dozens or even thousands of security camera feeds could catch illicit activities that human operators -- who tend to be pricey and can be distracted or sleepy -- would miss. Depending on how it's implemented,it could also bring forth civil liberty and  privacy concerns.