Google has acquired PittPatt, a facial recognition software company. In a notice on PittPatt’s website, the team stated:
We are happy to announce that Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition has been acquired by Google!
Joining Google is the next thrilling step in a journey that began with research at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute in the 1990s and continued with the launching of Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition (PittPatt) in 2004. We’ve worked hard to advance the research and technology in many important ways and have seen our technology come to life in some very interesting products. At Google, computer vision technology is already at the core of many existing products (such as Image Search, YouTube, Picasa, and Goggles), so it’s a natural fit to join Google and bring the benefits of our research and technology to a wider audience. We will continue to tap the potential of computer vision in applications that range from simple photo organization to complex video and mobile applications.
We look forward to joining the team at Google! The team at Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition
PittPatt was founded in 2004 as a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University after nearly ten years of research in object recognition conducted by Dr. Henry Schneiderman as both a student and faculty member of the CMU Robotics Institute. Dr. Schneiderman is joined by co-founder, fellow CMU PhD graduate and former University of Florida Professor, Dr. Michael Nechyba, and fellow CMU PhD graduate, Dr. Michael A. Sipe.
Google’ statement confirming the acquisition of PittPatt
“The Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition team has developed innovative technology in the area of pattern recognition and computer vision. We think their research and technology can benefit our users in many ways, and we look forward to working with them.”
