15 cameras watch over intersection

A security company has installed more than 50 surveillance cameras and lighting devices above the intersection of Youyi and Keshan roads in Baoshan district to test out the equipment. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT

A security company has installed more than 50 surveillance cameras and lighting devices at the intersection of Youyi and Keshan roads in Baoshan district to see how well they work in real-world conditions, a company engineer said Tuesday.

The equipment grabbed the public's attention after a microblogger posted a photo of the cameras crammed together on a crossbar over the intersection. Some microbloggers wondered why one intersection needed such heavy surveillance.

Shanghai Baokang Electronic Co, which makes video cameras for monitoring traffic, said it installed the cameras there to test out their capabilities, according to Xue Xiaogang, a company engineer.

"It's an experiment to test how the cameras work in real situations. Only 15 are cameras," Xue wrote on his microblog.

The company chose to install the cameras at the intersection of Youyi and Keshan roads because it is the closest one to its office, Xue said.

He acknowledged that the company has not gotten permission from the authorities to install the cameras there.