China's search engine giant Baidu developed a machine-learning algorithm that will help Chinese authorities to preempt stampedes in potentially crowded areas.

The algorithm will use data collected by Baidu's map application to preempt stampede, a research report published by Baidu's Big Data Lab said on Tuesday.

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The app will trigger a warning for stampedes once a number of queries for a specific location or area crosses a set threshold. The warning will be sent half an hour to two hours before the anticipated stampede.

The report added that Baidu map app's monopoly in China's mapping services market gives it an innate advantage to precisely predict stampedes across China. The map application currently accounts to more than 70 percent in China's mapping services market. Everyday, millions of Chinese people, including visiting tourists, use Baidu map to travel to different locations across the country.      

Officials in Baidu said that the algorithm can be used by local governments, police and event management companies/event operators. The algorithm will be soon synchronized with Baidu map and eventually introduced as a public service feature.     

However, some experts have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities may use this 'crowd controlling technology' to control social unrest across the country.    

Baidu's researchers had started working over this technology after 36 people were killed on New Year's Eve in 2014 near the Bund riverfront.            

TagsBaidu, Baidu Map App