Face recognition at high-speed railways

The Chinese railway authority is planning to establish a face recognition system at three railway stations along the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway to assist the police in catching criminals, China Business Radio reported on Sunday.

The three railway stations are Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, Tianjin West Railway Station and Jinan West Railway Station. The opening of bids starts on April 20.

The system, which is to be installed at a station's security check area, is believed to be able to screen a criminal's face even after a cosmetic surgery.

China has widely employed the face recognition system. At least 100 criminal suspects had been detected one month after the system was put into operation in 2006 in Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station. The system has also been used in many other public security fields including at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Beijing Capital International Airport, hospitals and exam centers.

Researchers say they are also working on movable cameras that will be added to upgrade the system to screen faces at different angles.