Florida-based startup Safe Zone has launched the Safe Zone Gunfire Detector, an affordable gunfire detection system that has the ability to respond to an active shooter situation within 10 seconds.
According to Safe Zone, it takes an average of five minutes for police to be notified of an active shooter situation by someone on scene. The Safe Zone Gunfire Detector is a small (3 x 3in) triangular unit that can be mounted throughout the terminal and provides gunfire detection for an area measuring 9,000ft³ (255m³).
Safe Zone utilizes the latest wi-fi communication and cloud-based machine learning technologies to instantly send and analyze data that returns usable information to local law enforcement and on-site administrators in seconds.
The system can determine the location of shots fired, the number of shots, and the type and caliber of gun being used. Within seconds of the trigger pull, an alert is sent to local law enforcement.
Each detector monitors ambient noise and infrared level, with a full second of data recorded around any instance of a sudden increase in noise or light level. If an infrared flash or sound more than 10dB louder than ambient noise is detected, all detectors in range send the captured acoustic and IR signals to Safe Zone’s cloud-based machine learning system where they are compared against a database of thousands of signatures of known firearms and other non-firearm disturbances. The system analyzes more than 3,000 datapoints in each record. False alarms like car backfires, firecrackers or balloons popping are filtered out through their distinct acoustic signatures.
Safe Zone president Mike Anderson said, “We are living in a time where active shooters are a real concern for everyday citizens conducting normal business. Shooters tend to continue assaults until confronted, so helping law enforcement to locate shooters up to 17 minutes faster could save countless lives and improve other first responders’ ability to minimize damage and administer emergency care. That’s why we designed the Safe Zone Gunfire Detector to be as affordable and fast as possible.”
For more on how airports can be kept safe, check out the ‘Aviation Security, Border Control & Facilitation’ stream at the Passenger Terminal Conference, which takes place during Passenger Terminal Expo, on March 26, 27 and 28, 2019, in London.