Chinese Police Using LED Tech To Catch Jaywalkers

In the Chinese city of Shenzhen police have been making use of LED displays to name and shame those caught jaywalking.

The NZ Herald reported on the practice, whereby those who are filmed jaywalking will be publicly named, and will also receive an SMS notification telling them to pay a fine for the offence.

Facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence are being utilised, along with the large LED screens, to crack down on the practice of crossing the street illegally.

The billboards have been installed at some of the city’s busiest intersections and the police are reportedly in discussions with social media platforms and mobile phone networks to introduce the SMS notifications.

Shenzhen police have been displaying photos of jaywalkers on large LED screens since April last year, but the introduction of facial recognition and AI will be new. The current technology is provided by Intellifusion, and it is this organisation that is working on the introduction of facial recognition.

Wang Jun, director of marketing solutions at the company, told the news provider that the problem of jaywalking in China can’t be resolved “just by imposing fines or taking photos of the offenders”.

“But a combination of technology and psychology … can greatly reduce instances of jaywalking and will prevent repeat offences,” he stated.

This isn’t the first place where facial recognition technology has been used in public places. We recently highlighted Unilever’s work with Emotion Research Lab and Mesh Experience, where the firm is installing hidden facial recognition cameras in stores in the US and Brazil to analyse facial expressions as people approach product displays.