Technology Trends: The Role of Weapons Detection in Sniper Defense

This article was originally published by August 2022 issue. of Security trade magazine. When you share, don’t forget to mention Security Business Magazine on LinkedIn And @SecBusinessMag On Twitter.

In an instant, many lives were changed. Innocent children were killed in the firing. The coming days and weeks are filled with blame, political jealousy and anger — at the shooter, the current system and the unclear solution to prevent the next tragedy.

The gravity of recent events cast a shadow over my interview with Rob Huberty, co-founder and COO of Zero Eyes, an AI weapon detection platform that identifies guns at first sight.

The conversation was supposed to be light-hearted; to discuss the company’s recent award for being the first video analyst to receive DHS Safety Act certification. Previously at Michigan’s Oxford High School – the site of another recent and tragic school shooting – I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of ZeroEyes’ technology to reduce the chance of a mass shooting on campus.

Instead, the conversation shifted from short-term success stories to reducing mass shooting incidents.

Time search

ZeroEyes is one of several weapons detection technologies on the market. Most weapons detection technologies focus on weapons of mass destruction such as guns and explosives, although some can also detect bladed weapons. Let’s be clear: passive weapons detection technology It will never stop a person or device by itself..

In active shooter mode, the incident is usually over in less than two minutes. The average police response time for high-priority calls can range from 4 to 11 minutes. This response time gap must be closed. The purpose of weapon detection technology is to provide time. Although an active solution may seem less likely, time is precious in an active shooter situation. Every second is a lifetime; Every second gives another chance to survive.

Within those seconds, a weapon detection analysis can initiate a building lockdown, denying or delaying access to the building. Within those seconds, site security, public safety, or other highly heroic tactical responses may be initiated.

Technology cannot disarm a suspect or stop them from shooting. At this time, only one person can stop the other person. Weapon tracking technologies proactively help to create those precious seconds.

Technology with the human body

According to Huberty, “ZeroEyes provides a security solution, not just video analytics.

ZeroEyes’ solution uses IP cameras to track visible, branded firearms – if a person can identify them, so can The analysis. The system supports the analysis by putting someone in a loop to confirm the alarm.

AI will never be 100% accurate, and ZeroEyes technology is no different. Knowing what to look for and how to react in an active shooter situation requires comprehensive training that can only be found in real-world situations. ZeroEyes employs warfighters and early stage law enforcement to verify alerts as part of its surveillance solution.

ZeroEyes analysis uses IP cameras with at least 1.3MP (720p) resolution or higher. The better the resolution, the better the detection. AI isn’t perfect, though, and other security experts point to ZeroEyes’ analysis that it can’t distinguish a gun from a cell phone if it’s being held like a gun. Is it a gun or a cell phone? This should look like a real gun, and ship the same weight as the real gun.

2020 article on real-time gun detection Journal of the International Neural Network Association Supporting this problem, small weapons are 38% less likely to be correctly identified than large weapons.

Systems like ZeroEyes rely on monitoring center operators to confirm detection and dispatch via a mobile phone app and initiate calls to local law enforcement. Human verified systems provide high accuracy with fast response.

Other weapons detection systems rely on the physical presence of personnel or low accuracy with immediate activation of locks or alarms.

When choosing a solution, all options must be weighed. One truth is that if a weapon detection system is not in place, weapons cannot be detected before they enter a building.

Today, ZeroEyes is deployed in schools, Fortune 100 companies and retail establishments in 17 states. Weapons detection technologies are used in most major sports venues, amusement parks and large retail centers.

“Most of our founders are fathers, and after watching tragic school shootings like Sandy Hook, Parkland, and now Robb Elementary, we felt compelled to create this solution,” says Huberty. “We’re trying to address the issue in the best way we can, by creating a solution to proactively prevent mass shootings. We’ve seen more than 1,000 fake and real guns enter schools and other places, and we count each life as a victory.

According to ZeroEyes, the solution currently finds many guns that are not false positives every day. With 90 schools deployed, there’s still not a day that goes by where you don’t find at least one gun. Some of the guns found are airsoft and water guns, but They are shipped every time because they are visually verified as firearms. why? One reason is that real guns are sometimes disguised as airsoft guns to bypass unsuspecting security.

Huberty explains the rise of guns in schools, with a common practice called Senior Assin, where seniors are assigned targets and have to “shoot” their targets with water guns or inside the school. With a constant stream of fake guns in situations like this, it creates an environment of human complacency – a curse that AI can’t defeat.

Complacency contributes to faulty situational awareness, apathy or panic that precludes rational responses to an active shooter — a story the media has sunk its teeth into in Uvalde. Satisfaction can be found not only in the response of people, but also in the repair of the camera.

AI-enabled analytics require the camera to be well maintained in proper working order. The reality is that AI analytics are never passive. They are only as good as the functionality of the sensor and how the AI ​​model is trained.

While many analytics companies offer a suite of analytics, AI-enabled analytics become most accurate when trained to look for something specific.

Be a good partner

As trusted security advisors, integrators are close to many of their end users, and often require solutions such as weapons detection systems. Most weapon tracking systems aren’t line-card items – rather, they’re unique one-off systems – but hopefully that will change.

Like many other manufacturers of weapons tracking systems, ZeroEyes has completed some installations of its own. As end-user demand drives more applications, demand for more integration channel partners to provide firearms tracking solutions.

As technology trends, the gap in reaction times for mass shooting is almost impossible to find. ZeroEyes is taking the lead, and they’re not the only ones; However, I urge other weapons developers to add manufacturers, and partner with them to help the integrations be deployed more widely.

John Polley is the Chief Solutions Officer of Protect Solutions Partners www.protechtsolutionspartners.com, a security consulting firm specializing in smart city monitoring. Connect with him on linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jonpolly.