Locating objects using images from portable devices

A system for use with a local physical device and one or more remote physical devices, the local physical device and the one or more remote physical devices having image capture capability, for assisting in locating objects, the system comprising:

• a local physical device having:
• an image capture portion for capturing one or more reference images of the object;
• a communication portion for sending identification metrics associated with the one or more reference images of the object with one or more of the remote physical devices and for receiving one or more images of an area around the one or more remote physical devices associated with the object from the one or more remote physical devices, and wherein the one or more images of the area are stored images;
• a review portion for reviewing one or more stored images associated with the object to determine the location of the lost object, the one or more stored images being captured by the one or more remote physical devices;
• and
• one or more remote physical devices having:
• an image capture portion for capturing one or more images of an area around the one or more remote physical devices;
• a comparison portion for determining using the one or more reference images, whether any of the one or more images captured includes the object and responsive to a determination that any of the one or more images captured includes the object, storing one or more of the one or more images as stored images and associating the stored images with the object;
• and
• a communication portion for receiving identification metrics and sending one or more images of an area around the one or more remote physical devices associated with the object, wherein the one or more remote physical devices are specified according to a profile of the one or more remote physical devices, and wherein the profile identifies a level of trustworthiness and a physical location of the one or more remote physical devices.

A computer program product for assisting in locating objects using a local physical device and one or more remote physical devices, the local physical device and the one or more remote physical devices having image capture capability, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, and wherein the program code is readable and executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

• capturing, by the local physical device, one or more reference images of an object;
• sharing, by the local physical device, identification metrics associated with one or more reference images of the object with one or more of the remote physical devices;
• specifying the one or more remote physical devices according to a profile of the one or more remote physical devices, wherein the profile identifies a level of trustworthiness and a physical location of the one or more remote physical devices;
• capturing, by the one or more of the remote physical devices, one or more images of an area in which the object may be located;
• determining, by one or more of the one or more remote physical devices and using the identification metrics, whether any of the one or more images captured includes the object;
• in response to a determination that any of the one or more images captured by the one or more of the remote physical devices includes the object, storing one or more of the one or more images as stored images, and associating the stored images with the object;
• and
• in response to the object being lost by a user, reviewing, by the local physical device, one or more of the stored images associated with the object to determine a location of the lost object.