China’s Skynet Project finds people in minutes

A BBC correspondent was spotted by the Skynet Project after only seven minutes' escape during a test in Guiyang of Southwest China's Guizhou province Sunday.

In the test, the police took only a mugshot of John Sudworth, and the correspondent started his flight. He planned to head to the railway station, but on his way there passed three surveillance cameras on an overpass. As he entered the station, he has been already scanned and found by the Skynet Project and police showed up.

The whole test took only seven minutes.

A key component of the Skynet Project is a real-time pedestrian detection and recognition system, which can identify the age, gender and clothing of pedestrians through surveillance cameras on the streets. The technology can also identify vehicles.

In addition, the system can show the match level of an individual's image with specified personal information in the database on a real-time basis.

The technology is equipped with tracking and recognition systems that can help police identify criminals.

Regarding the issue of privacy violation, Guiyang police said they only use the equipment when there is a need.

"If you don't have anything to hide from, there is no need to worry," Sudworth said.