Video: Scan faces, take photos with these glasses in Dubai

Dubai Police today unveiled James Bond glasses at Gitex.

It was like a scene from a James Bond or Mission Impossible movie. A man wearing an innocuous pair of glasses but was actually doing surveillance work or tracking someone listed in a database of nefarious characters.

The specs are used for facial recognition and being displayed by the Dubai Police at the ongoing 38th edition of Gitex Technology Week, which is running until Thursday at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

.@DubaiPoliceHQ today unveiled #JamesBond glasses at @GITEXTechWeek (Video by Angel Tesorero/Khaleej Times) pic.twitter.com/lbdaXRl8Pl
- Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) October 15, 2018

Wael Assad, a telecommunications engineer at Dubai Police, likened the specs to a pair in the "Mission Impossible" movie series. He wore the glasses and demonstrated to Khaleej Times how they work by simply looking at crowd of people visiting the Dubai Police stand. The enhanced glasses are part of Dubai Police's smart initiatives to keep the UAE safe.

So, how does it work?

A small camera is mounted on the right corner of the eyeglasses sunglasses. Once the camera is focused on a certain person for two to three seconds, it then takes a photo and sends it via Bluetooth or wifi to a portable minicomputer, which stores a list of "wanted persons" in the UAE.

In essence, it's like a moving version of the photo systems that are being used at customs or immigration checkpoints.

But the biggest improvement is the presence of micro screens in front of the specs. It's like you're looking at a computer monitor in front of your iris.

Once the photo is registered on the micro-computer you can use the view finder with the help of a 'mouse' connected to the eye glasses to select from a menu to check the details of the person - such as ID number, visa status, or if that person has a pending police case.

All details of the person will appear in a few seconds and displayed on the eyeglasses. If the person has no pending case, the glasses will display that the person is cleared.

Assad said two pairs of smart glasses are currently being tested by the Dubai Police. These specs will be used in areas where there are limited or no fixed security cameras and also at large events such as concerts, conferences and exhibitions and in highly populated areas like airports, metro stations and parks.

Assad said intentions of the authorities here are very clear and that is to keep the UAE safe from unwanted characters. The logic he said is that those who are law abiding have nothing to fear but those who violate the law are sure not to escape from authorities.

Angel Tesorero

• angel@khaleejtimes.com