Chinese Government Identifies Citizens by the Way they Walk

China is apparently utilizing its unprecedented number of CCTV cameras to pick individuals out of crowds.

China
Citizen surveillance in China has reached a new level. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images

China claims to have created a system so technologically advanced that it can identify an individual simply by their body shape and signature walk.

The government is utilizing its unmatched number of CCTV cameras through the country — some 170 million —along with Google Glass-like “smart specs” to up its infamous surveillance efforts, according to TechCrunch.

The “gait recognition” technology is currently used by police in Beijing and Shanghai to hone in on suspects in large crowds. The system, created by  Chinese AI startup, Watrix, says it can identify people from up to 165 feet away.

While the tech will be useful in helping law officials nab criminals, critics of the Communist country believe the government may use it for more sinister, controlling means, like surveilling ethnic minority citizens who “go beyond their home or place of work,” TechCrunch reported.

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