1. A system comprising: means for selecting an object of interest; means located on a first processing station for collecting images containing the object of interest and transforming image representations of the object of interest into a single results key with data targeting a particular object of interest or event sufficiently to provide a threshold level of confidence in detecting the particular object of interest or event; an image capture and processing device that is remote from the first processing station and operable to capture images, the image capture and processing device being programmed with an analysis algorithm to process the captured images; means for transferring the results key to the image capture and processing device; the results key configuring the analysis algorithm of the image capture and processing device for analysis of the captured images to detect the object of interest; and the image capture and processing device including self-contained means for analyzing the images in cooperation with the results key, and for conditionally providing an output signal based on the results of said analysis to drive a secondary system for action appropriate to detection of the object of interest when if one or more selected characteristics of the object of interest are present in the sample image, wherein the results key is dedicated to a single object of interest, and the image capture and processing device is configured to operate on a standalone basis without further exchanging data with the first processing station as the image capture and processing device repeatedly uses the results key to analyze sample images for the presence of the object of interest.