New Czech CCTV Software Can Identify You by Your Walk

Computer scientists in the Czech Republic have created a program that can identify suspects on CCTV footage by their gait

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 16.02.2016 15:08:54 (updated on 16.02.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

It’s a common occurrence: a news story asks readers for help identifying a suspect based on grainy CCTV footage, often with the person in question hiding their face to some degree.

Well, Czech company Kinalisoft has invented new software that can help police identify these subjects – using only their basic anatomy and the way they walk. 

The company’s new product first isolates a human subject from a background, then gathers data from the way they move in as short as a few steps.

This data – a person’s gait – is considered to be unique, like a fingerprint. It can identify subjects even if they attempt to disguise their walk or fake a limp, with an accuracy of 99.2%.

“Police often have high-quality records of suspects that are hiding their face,” Kinalisoft’s Radek Štourač told EU research & innovation magazine Horizon in a recent interview.

“Our system can help recognise such people and trace them as they move in front of cameras.”

News of Kinalisoft’s development has been picked up by foreign media including the UK’s Daily Mail.

With Prague preparing to install more CCTV cameras on the city’s streets, Kinalsoft’s new software could assist not only in tracking suspects through their movements, but also in identifying people in need help.

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