A landmark park in Beijing is using face recognition software to wipe out toilet paper theft from its bathrooms once and for all.
Tiantan Park, home to the iconic Temple of Heaven, is now home to six high-tech dispensers that mete out toilet paper only after conducting a facial scan, The Beijing News reported Sunday.
The pilot program kicked off recently after authorities faced an increasing number of local residents raiding the park's restrooms for toilet paper.
Tourists now must allow the machine to scan their faces before dispensing a 60-centimeter serving of toilet paper. The software will deny the same person toilet paper within nine minutes of their first scan.
Average daily consumption of toilet paper at one of the public toilets reduced from 20 to four rolls in the program's first three days, park employees said.
However, the system has its rough spots. Some park visitors have already complained the dispensers do not work.
The whole process takes about 30 seconds, an eternity for someone enduring a bathroom emergency.
The trial will last for six months, according to a park attendant.
