The researchers at SRI, (who happen to be the folks that made Siri before Apple bought it), are working on a new app that uses image recognition and clever AI to provide a fairly accurate estimate of the calories in your food.

They sound similar to some of the apps that already exist, but they rely on expensive analysis hardware, or are farmed out to humans via turk services. SRI wants to create complete independence with its app based on a photo taken by the user.

The app can ask the user for clarification on certain items based on the photo snapped by users. Calorie info can be pulled from a database already containing nutritional info for the restaurant's menu.

The app won't be 100 percent accurate, but it can give you a rough estimate of it for you to closely monitor your food intake. [Gigaom via Foodbeast]