A Firm That Uses AI To Detect Weapons Aims to Halt School Shootings and Other Massacres

(NewsSpace.com) – Mass shootings only seem to be growing in numbers. In 2023, there were 656, and as of March 8, there have already been 71 this year. Now a firm that employs artificial intelligence to help detect weapons is looking to help cut back on the number of tragic events.

ZeroEyes is a company that produces artificial intelligence (AI) software to help detect weapons. The firm’s website notes it was founded in 2018 after the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School that claimed 17 lives. It’s run by “a team of Navy SEALs and elite technologists,” whose aim is “to protect people from having to face similar circumstances.”

The company “provide[s] military-grade intelligence monitoring” to multiple types of facilities, including schools, defense sites, and commercial buildings. The software is purported to work fast, identifying weapons within camera view within two to three seconds. The way it works, according to senior vice president of sales, JT Wilkins, is that the system takes a snapshot, which is then sent to the Manned Operations Center. The facility is staffed by military veterans and former law enforcement officers who make a quick decision as to whether the item picked up by the camera is a gun or not.

From the time the snapshot is taken to the time a final determination reaches clients, only three to five seconds elapses.

Now, the company has partnered with public schools in Arkansas to help prevent threats. The software will integrate with the schools’ existing security cameras. Martin Mahan, the deputy superintendent in Fort Smith, said that partnering with ZeroEyes allows the district to take “a proactive measure to deal with threat mitigation.” The software will complement the safety measures the district already has in place, such as special entryways, its own police force, “stop the bleed” training, and a reunification plan.

It’s not just Fort Smith using the software, either. The Mount Pulaski Community Unified School District, located in Logan County, Illinois, has also adopted the technology.