CCTV camera identifies people by race

Males has also displayed the RTS-2 in Japan and at London's Royal College of Art as an art installation called "The Target Project."

When the device is displayed in a more controlled environment, people are more curious. Males said he was asked why he would create a racial classification device and what he would do if a government asked him to develop the system further.

The second question is irrelevant: The technology already exists, and it's much more refined, Males said.

"The device isn't that sophisticated," Males said. "This software exists at a much more sophisticated and dangerous level in the commercial world. You can buy facial-recognition technology that looks at features and tries to match people."

But using automated tools such as CCTV to target people by race raises questions about ethnic profiling, which some experts argue puts a person's race as a forefront consideration in wrongdoing, even before suspicious actions have been observed.

After the July 2005 terrorist bombings in London, many Asians complained of increased police scrutiny and aggression in their communities, merely since some attackers were Asian. The issue caused heightened tensions between Asians and police, which could have potentially hurt the police's chance to collect valuable intelligence from sources within those communities.

"Personally, I think there's a place for these kinds of technologies," Males said. "Technology has a role to play in our security and safety, but there needs to be proper discussion. There needs to be a bit more openness."