Facial recognition assists airport security checks in China

CHONGQING - An increasing number of Chinese airports are now using facial recognition systems to help quicken their security checks for the convenience of air travellers.

A total of 557 security channels at 62 airports, including Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, have been equipped with the auxiliary system, according to the Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developer of the system.

The system has proved its efficiency and accuracy after being used by about 80 percent of the country's airports whose annual passenger throughput exceeds 30 million people.

"It takes less than one second for the system to match a passenger's face with their ID photo, while checking the validity of the credentials," said Shi Yu, head of the institute's smart security center.

Shi said the institute is developing the facial recognition technology for automatic airport check-in. With the system, passengers can avoid check-in formalities and go directly to the security channels, where cameras capture images of their faces and scan their ID cards or passports to verify their identity.

An upgraded system will be put into use at an airport in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province, in May, and then at Yulin Airport in Northwest China's Shaanxi province in June, before being promoted for use nationwide.