Baidu System: Scan Your Face To Enter This Tourist Destination In China

A tourist destination located in China does not follow the "No ID, No Entry" policy, instead, all visitors need to enter the historic Chinese water town is a selfie. A Chinese tech company Baidu tried its facial recognition technology last week in a historic town with architecture and classic canals in Wuzhen.

Wuzhen is part of Tongxiang and is considered as a historic scenic town that receives millions of travelers every year. The facial recognition technology that was installed in the place added convenience and shortened wait times for guests that are the reasons why Baidu, as well as the Wuzhen Tourism Co. received a positive feedback from them.

The photo of visitors is taken and uploaded to a datable when they arrive. When visitors want to access some parts of the town, a video is recorded by a tablet that is attached to the entry gates of the place. A few frames are sent to the cloud and the visitors are identified whether or not they are authorized using an artificial intelligence. According to Baidu, this process will only take place in 0.6 of a second and the facial recognition technology is ascertained to be 99.97 percent accurate at the moment.  

According to a report in CNN, Baidu chief scientist Andrew said that the facial recognition technology possesses a lot of strengths that are not available on other authentication methods. Besides, people always have their face with them. It was also pointed out that using fingerprint scanners- biometrics for that matter is not new. However, it was not always effective. On the other hand, there are cases when tricks can be used in some iris-scanning technology. Baidu, however, created a system of technology that cannot be beaten by anyone since it detects a person when he or she is not live.

Communications and policy director at the Identification Technology Association (IdTA) Andrew Meehan said that some Americans are happy with the use of commercial biometric systems, but they are nervous that the government may use them for purposes of surveillance. According to The Verge, Meehan expresses his doubt about the accuracy of the Baidu system.