Consumers in China can now collect their parcels from Cainiao smart lockers by having their face scanned by a camera, Alibaba's logistics unit announced on Wednesday. Lockers that support facial recognition unlocking had been put to the test by the company, and passed with flying colors, according to China Daily.

  The lockers are smart enough to avoid being tricked by a photo or video of a person. And users of the service can update their delivery account if their appearance changes, for example if they have plastic surgeries, said Zhao Deshan, a senior engineer with Cainiao.

A bank of Cainiao delivery lockers.[File Photo: IC]

  The move is the latest use of technology by the company to make its operations more efficient. Last September, Cainiao and YTO Express opened an unmanned logistics center in Hangzhou where packages are sorted using robots.

  Founded in 2013, Cainiao positions itself as a technology-driven logistics platform. It has developed businesses in 224 countries and regions, and works with more than three million couriers.

Self-charging robots sort packages at a smart logistics center opened by Cainiao and YTO Express in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, seen here on September 14, 2018. [File Photo: IC]

  China is the world's biggest parcel delivery market. Data from the consultancy AskCI shows that about 206,000 banks of smart delivery lockers were in use in China as of 2017, and that number is projected to increase to 750,000 by 2020.