Chinese Police Add Facial-Recognition Glasses to Surveillance ArsenalPolice are donning the devices as hundreds of millions of Chinese begin traveling for the Lunar New Year holiday
A policewoman uses facial-recognition sunglasses while patrolling a train station in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China's Henan province, Feb. 5. PHOTO: CHINA NEWS SERVICEBy Josh Chin Feb. 7, 2018 6:52 a.m. ET
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-police-go-robocop-with-facial-recognition-glasses-1518004353?mod=e2twBEIJING—As hundreds of millions of Chinese begin traveling for the Lunar New Year holiday, police are showing off a new addition to their crowd-surveillance toolbox: mobile facial-recognition units mounted on eyeglasses.
China is already a global leader in deploying cutting-edge surveillance technologies based on artificial intelligence. The mobile devices could expand the reach of that surveillance, allowing authorities to peer into places that fixed cameras aren’t scanning, and to respond more quickly.
The devices, released late last year, were touted in state media this week as a means to help authorities during times such as the annual Lunar New Year migration that begins next week, when Chinese travelers flood train stations and airports.
The eyeglass-mounted camera is equipped with facial-recognition technology capable of “highly effective screening†of crowds for fugitives traveling under false pretenses, the official People’s Daily newspaper reported Monday. Its story included images of a policewoman wearing a sunglasses version of the device at a railway station in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan province.
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