A digital camera that makes you look pretty

Imagine a digital camera that could make people in your photos more attractive.

Tommer Leyvand, a researcher at Tel Aviv University in Israel, has done just that. Leyvand has developed a new algorithm that can improve the looks of human faces in photos so they appear as better versions of themselves, according to a report from New Scientist.

The technology, called a "digital beautification" algorithm, apparently makes tiny adjustments to the distances between hundreds of different facial features, according to the report. That way, it can alter the person's appearance only subtly in a matter of minutes.

Leyvand combined the software with ratings on attractiveness from volunteers, to form a set of rules called "beauty function," which ultimately determine what is good-looking and what is not, according to the story. (This could be a whole new realm for the site "Am I Hot or Not.")

Initial tests have proved promising. According to the report, Leyvand showed before-and-after pictures to 40 people, and the majority of them said the software improved the person's looks.