Project Haystack

Police and security teams will be able to locate a specific person in a crowd without ever analysing their face. Currently, finding a Person of Interest (PoI) relies on operators manually scanning multiple video feeds, cross-referencing sightings, and using local knowledge—a slow, labour-intensive process with no standard system. Project Haystack aims to replace that manual trawl with technology that processes video from many cameras while deliberately avoiding facial recognition, sidestepping the privacy concerns that have made such surveillance controversial. If the prototype succeeds, it could give authorities an ethically compliant tool for public-space searches. The same approach could also help theme park staff find a lost child without broadcasting their image or requiring a face scan. The project is not about fundamental science; it is a practical engineering challenge to build and test a detection system that works in real-world conditions while respecting privacy. Success would mean faster, less intrusive searches in settings where every minute counts.