Google buys computer vision startup 'PittPatt'

Google on Monday said it has bought a computer vision startup spun out of the robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University. The California-based Internet giant did not disclose financial terms of its deal to buy Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition, referred to as "PittPatt." "The Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition team has developed innovative technology in the area of pattern recognition and computer vision," a Google spokesperson said. "We think their research and technology can benefit our users in many ways, and we look forward to working with them." PittPatt was launched in 2004 based on research done in the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania, according to the company. Founders of the company specialized in enabling machines to identify objects and spatial relationships between them. "At Google, computer vision technology is already at the core of many existing products such as Image Search, YouTube, Picasa, and Goggles," PittPatt said in a message at its website. "So, it's a natural fit to join Google and bring the benefits of our research and technology to a wider audience." Computer vision technology has the potential to be used in a range of applications from organizing digital photos to enhancing the performance of mobile gadgets, according to PittPatt.