Temple University deploys AI gun detection camera software ZeroEyes

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Temple University is the first university in the region to deploy weapon detection software based on artificial intelligence.

It’s called ZeroEyes and aims to reduce the risk of gun violence.

Campus police say they use existing security cameras and human verification to detect weapons.

If a firearm is spotted, the footage is immediately shared with the ZeroEyes operations center, which is staffed 24 hours a day by military and law enforcement veterans.

If the threat is deemed valid, an alert will be sent to Temple Police with information about the weapon type and the individual’s last known location.

So far this year, there have been eighteen shootings within a quarter mile of Temple’s campus, one of which was fatal, according to our 6abc Data Journalism Team.

SEPTA ran the same program, but that ended earlier this year because several of the agency’s analog cameras were incompatible with the AI ​​software.

To ensure there were no issues, hundreds of Temple campus cameras were updated in 2022 and 2023.

Campus police say these cameras can also detect part of a weapon, which is often difficult to see on the camera with the human eye.