During the new year, I have been crossing the border to Shenzhen city because I wanted to see how they are trialling a new system in the checkpoint area using face recognition instead of checking your passport or Chinese ID card with immigration officers.
I have tried it, and it is incredible because it is pretty much faster than staying in long queues. In the past, I spent even an hour waiting for my turn, and sometimes, it took ages for the immigration agents to check my paperwork because of the passport renewal numbers. Now, align your face to the camera, let the system check your pictures, and display your information on the screen. Then, the toll gates open automatically, and you can cross the border.
Also, I want to show you that in Shenzhen city, they have opened a new metro line. What caught my attention was the facial recognition installed in the metro toll gates.
To use this facial recognition feature, you must register using one of your online payment wallets, such as Alipay or WeChat. Then, when you approach the toll gates, you need to align your face to the screen. The toll gates open automatically, and you do the same when you exit; the payment is charged to your online wallet.
Apart from face recognition, this new metro line is driverless, which means it does not have a driver because a software system controls it.
No human drivers will need metro transportation drivers in the future.
I wondered how much money they were saving for this new metro line and how many metro drivers might lose their jobs shortly after they made the same for the existing metro lines.
I want to clarify that facial recognition is not implemented in all Chinese checkpoints; this is just in the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint. Hong Kong has around 13 border crossing points from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.
This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io
