FORT SMITH — Fort Smith Public Schools will soon have AI gun detection software installed at all 26 campuses.
ZeroEyes, a company out of Philadelphia, created an AI-based gun detection video analytics platform. The software is human-verified and holds the full U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, according to a news release from the company.
The software integrates into existing digital security cameras and helps to mitigate mass shootings and gun-related violence by reducing response times, the release states. The software has been recognized by Homeland Security as an effective anti-terrorism technology.
The software company, founded by Navy SEALs and technologists, partnered with Curtis Stout, an electrical and electronic solutions company based in Little Rock, to integrate the technology in Fort Smith public schools, according to the release.
“With nearly eight decades of construction expertise, we are trusted by schools to leverage and provide only best-in-breed solutions,” said Ron Smith, president and CEO of Curtis Stout. “It was a natural evolution for us to expand into security and safety infrastructure. We are proud to begin our campus safety division with ZeroEyes as the anchor product and anticipate this to be our fastest-growing division yet.”
Martin Mahan, deputy superintendent of Fort Smith Public Schools, said the district was interested in adding another layer of security to its safety plan and evaluated every solution on the market.
“ZeroEyes came out on top for several reasons,” he said. “Its ability to overlay our existing security cameras allows our students to have a normal school experience. Not to mention, ZeroEyes has a full-time operations center with human verification and comes at a lower cost than similar solutions.”
If a gun is identified through the AI gun detection, images are instantly shared with the trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans who staff the ZeroEyes Operations Center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the release states.
“If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type and last known location — to local law enforcement and school staff as quickly as three to five seconds from detection,” according to ZeroEyes.
