Polygraphs could be a thing of the past now that computer scientists have come up with a new program that correctly identifies liars more than 80% of the time.

The automated system analyzes eye movements to tell if people are lying.

In a study of 40 videotaped conversations, the computer program correctly identified the liars 82.5% of the time -- a better rate than humans can detect with their own eyes. Experienced interrogators can pinpoint a liar 65% of the time, the study said.

"What we wanted to understand was whether there are signal changes emitted by people when they are lying, and can machines detect them? The answer was yes, and yes," University at Buffalo researcher Ifeoma Nwogu said in a release about the study on Monday.

She noted the technology is not foolproof: A very small percentage of subjects studied were excellent liars, and maintained their usual eye movement patterns as they lied.

The researchers said the study does not mean computers can replace humans, but it's an added tool for police and other interrogators.