China using water spray, facial recognition technology to stop jaywalkers

In some of China’s big cities, high-tech efforts are underway to stop pedestrians from jaywalking, state media reported on Thursday.

In central Hubei province, yellow posts equipped with lasers and motion-sensors were seen on curbs, CCTV reported, adding that people will get sprayed by water if they attempt to cross on a red light.

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From April 23, the southern city of Shenzhen launched 40 units of the “electronic police” — cameras with artificial intelligence that can identify jaywalkers automatically.

CCTV also showed a big screen in Beijing that tells passersby that a nearby camera is monitoring and a loudspeaker will warn pedestrians who violate road rules and will ask them to go back to the stop line.