Chinese police have started testing facial recognition glasses

Chinese police in Beijing have now begun testing using camera-enabled glasses to identify suspects in crowds and identify vehicles, Reuters reports.

Officers in Beijing have now started using the glasses at a checkpoint near a highway that can recognize car license plates and people’s facial features. Reuters reports that it has been able to verify that the police used the glasses. The facial and license plate recognition works via an offline database on a connected phone, which includes images of wanted persons.

LLVision, the company that makes the glasses, said through executive director Wu Fei that people shouldn’t worry about their privacy, because Chinese authorities would only use the glasses for “noble purposes” such as tracking down suspects and fugitives. The director told Reuters that his company trusts the Chinese government.

The Wall Street Journal previously wrote that thanks to the offline database, finding a match takes about a tenth of a second, although in practice this could be longer due to environmental factors. It is still unclear whether the glasses will actually become a standard part of the equipment and how many will be used during the tests.