Smart running track monitors performance

A smart running track equipped with high-tech devices such as a facial recognition system and heart rate monitors has been unveiled at Mingzhuhu Park on Shanghai's Chongming Island.

The track, an 8-kilometer circuit around a lake, consists of two types of surfaces: 6,800 meters of plastic and 700 meters of red asphalt. It also features a wooden pontoon section over water that measures 500 meters.

Chen Zhixian, a manager at Chongming Shanghai Tourism Investment Development Co, which developed the track, said the facial recognition device uses two cameras to calculate a runner's average speed over certain distances. The system is similar to the one used in point-to-point speed cameras on highways.