China is home to the world’s largest network of CCTV cameras – more than 170 million – and facial recognition is now widely used throughout the country to seek out suspects in crowds.

But the technology has been taken to the next level with the ability to identify individuals based on their body shape and the way they walk.

The “gait recognition” technology is already being used by police in Beijing and Shanghai where it can identify individuals even when their face is obscured or their back is turned, according to an AP report.

The technology was developed by Chinese AI startup Watrix, which recently picked up a US$14.5 million funding round to further develop its systems.

CEO Huang Yongzhen told the AP that it can ID individuals up to 50m which, in conjunction with existing facial recognition technology, can help police and surveillance systems operate more efficiently in busy areas.

Policing ethnic minorities

The main aim of the new technology is to monitor and locate criminals, but there are concerns China may use the new technology for more sinister purposes that include controlling its people.

In particular, the government has been criticised for the way it uses its databases and facial recognition tech to police China’s ethnic minorities.

A system deployed in Xinjiang – a Western province with a population of some 10 million “Uighur” Muslims – is reportedly designed to notify authorities when “target” individuals go beyond their home or place of work, according to Bloomberg.

China stands accused of detaining as many of one million Muslims in “re-education” camps in Xinjiang. 

The province, which includes a number of cities that are located closer to Baghdad than to Beijing, has been the scene of unrest and ethnic tension in the past, and that’s one reason why the government has deployed these systems.