Chinese authorities have started using new surveillance technology on the streets of Shanghai and Beijing to identify people based on the way they walk.
The gait recognition software can analyse people’s movements on normal surveillance footage to create a model of how each person walks, and uses this to establish who they are.
CEO of Chinese artificial intelligence company Watrix, Huang Yongzhen, said its system can identify people from up to 50 metres away, even with their back turned or face covered.