By: Ryan Duey
Photo Courtesy of ZeroEyes
Recently, Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the launch of the Safe and Secure Firearm Program for Kansas schools. The program allocates a total of $10 million in grant funding to public schools for the purchase of ZeroEyes AI gun detection software.
Launched by a group of Navy veterans in 2018, ZeroEyes uses advanced software layered onto a school or business’s existing security cameras. Sam Alaimo, ZeroEyes co-founder, detailed how ZeroEyes came to fruition.
“Our CEO, Michael Lahiff, was picking his daughter up from school one day. She had just done an active shooter drill and had no idea why she was preparing for a gunman to come into her school with the intent to harm children.”
“Mike asked the school, what are you doing with your security cameras? And the school said nothing, that they would be used after the fact to go back forensically to examine the shooting.”
“So that was where he said, all right, how do I take this archaic security technology that everybody already has and make it proactive?”
“We dropped everything in 2018 and founded ZeroEyes.”
The moment the ZeroEyes detection system identifies a gun, the image is instantly shared with staff at the ZeroEyes Operations Centers (ZOC). Alaimo said the ZOC staff are trained military and law enforcement veterans. He spoke about how the software works.
“In the real world, a shooter usually gets ready outside. In over 60% of cases, the shooting starts outside in the parking lot and then moves inside to the hallways.”
“With ZeroEyes, when the gun comes out, our solution almost instantaneously is going to detect what it thinks is a gun and send the image to the ZOC.”
“Our ZOC analyst then analyzes it. If it is in fact a gun, we’re going to dispatch it.”
“The client and local law enforcement will then get the dispatch. In the real world, this is all done in 3 to 5 seconds.”
ZeroEyes is currently used in 46 states across the nation, with proactive detections happening daily, stopping threats before they start.
Eligible Kansas schools can apply for funding now on the Attorney General’s website, and grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
To learn more about ZeroEyes AI gun detection software, visit ZeroEyes.com.
