Facial recognition with a mask? Chinese company has an app for that

China, land of some of the most sophisticated electronic surveillance on the planet,
has been overrun with mask-obscured faces due to the coronavirus outbreak.

This has caused problems not only for law enforcement operations that need the technology for tracking down criminals, but also for those who use face-recognition for security access in banks and other transactions, according toNot to worry, a Chinese company says: We’ve got an app for that.

Electronics manufacturer Hanwang Technology (known as Hanvon, in English), has developed facial recognition technology that augments the camera-based system with body-temperature measurements to recognize anybody whose face is half-swathed.“If connected to a temperature sensor, it can measure body temperature while identifying the person’s name, and then the system would process the result, say, if it detects a temperature over 38 degrees [Celsius],” Hanwang Vice President Huang Lei told Reuters. “When wearing a mask, the recognition rate can reach about 95%, which can ensure that most people can be identified.”

About 200 clients in Beijing are using the technology, police included, and more will begin installing it soon, Huang told Reuters.

If you’re looking to dodge the bots, don some shades atop that mask, the company said.