Face scanners against toilet paper thefts

In Beijing, face scanners in public toilets are used to prevent toilet paper thefts

One of the biggest problems in Beijing is toilet paper theft from public toilets. Many rolls are stolen to be used in private houses. The worst affected tourist area is Tantian Park (Temple of Heaven), a complex of religious buildings.

So, the authorities of the city decided to install in public toilets, some dispensers for toilet paper with face scanners to avoid thefts. These machines scan a face in 3 seconds and then give 60 cm of paper. For having more, you have to wait for 9 minutes, but if the dispenser receives too many requests, it gets stuck.

Although this may be an ingenious idea, it caused some controversies. As a matter of fact, sometimes the wait time to get the paper was too long. At another time, it happened that the dispenser broke down, so the staff had to provide the paper manually. Other people raised privacy concerns about a record of their bathroom use.

China is investing a lot in the cleaning and modernization of public toilets for encouraging tourism. To do that, about 2 billion euros have been allocated, to make toilets more comfortable and technological. Lastly, there will be a rating for the level of hygiene of the public toilets.

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