Science to Predict Terrorist Intentions

Computer and behavioral scientists at the University of Buffalo are developing a system that studies faces, voices, bodies and other biometrical data to predict terrorist intentions.

"The goal is to identify the perpetrator in a security setting before he or she has the chance to carry out the attack," says Professor Venu Govindaraju.

The project was recently awarded $800,000 by the National Science Foundation to create this system. "We are developing a prototype that examines a video in a number of different security settings, automatically producing a single, integrated score of malfeasance likelihood," adding that the system will incorporate machine "learning" capabilities, which will allow it to adapt over time.

"Human screeners have fatigue and bias, but the machine does not blink."