Here is a fun use of pattern matching technology:

Illegible words on church headstones could be read once more thanks to a scan technology developed in the US.

[…]

A computer matches the patterns to a database of signature carvings which reveals the words.

What they don’t realize is that this could be used to scan people’s homes for tombstones turned into fireplaces and floors. It always annoyed me to find gravestones stolen from cemetaries around the midwest.

The article makes some other suggestions:

The researchers believe the technology will also have practical applications in other industry sectors, such as the security and medical fields.

Dr Cai said: “We may use the technology for the future UAVs (Unmanned Aviation vehicles) to detect ground signatures of ancient ruins and help medical doctors to diagnose patients’ well-being through tongue inspection.”

The technology could also be used to predict a possible tsunami by examining the patterns on the surface of the world’s oceans.

Could be? Hard to see how static scans of tombstone carvings could evolve to global wave monitoring, but I guess that is the exciting aspect of detection engines.