China has developed a police car that can scan and recognize the faces of criminals during patrols.
The new police vehicle was developed by engineers from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China's Police Equipment Joint Research Lab and was unveiled on Wednesday in the city of Chengdu, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A 360-degree camera was mounted on the rooftop of the modified SUV, allowing it to scan for faces up to 60 meters away in any direction. The system then analyzes the scanned faces, determining things like gender and age, then compares them to those in its database.
Once a match is detected, the system then alerts the police officer on board the car.
Lab director Yin Guanqiang expressed his confidence in the system. "As long as you get at least three-quarters of the face, you can make an ID," he said.
Yin added that the face detection system can also be set to look only for a particular person. He said that it can also be used to look for particular license plates and even identify mobile phones on the images.
For security, the car's trunk contains sensors that would alert officers if any of the equipment in the car is stolen. It is also able to run at 120 kilometers per hour and is designed with enhanced fuel consumption and less carbon dioxide emission.
The new car is also expected to serve to usher in a greater level of standardization when it comes to vehicles. Much of the Chinese police force's vehicles are refitted from commercial models, with features determined according to the needs of local units, the Global Times reported.
Chinese police authorities said the vehicle will be first tested in the east Zhejiang Province in June before being fielded in more locations later.