11/19/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/19/2024 15:31
In recent years, facilities such as hospitals, schools, casinos, and others have increasingly invested in weapons detection systems to meet public safety needs. However, not all these systems are equal, varying widely in accuracy, technological sophistication, cost-efficiency, and visitor experience. In this article, we'll review the benefits of AI weapon detection and how SoundThinking's SafePointe system can help you meet your public safety goals without sacrificing the visitor experience.
SafePointe is an AI-based weapons detection system designed for high-throughput facilities. With its discreet form factor (two discreet metal bollards placed about ten feet apart), patrons can pass through without realizing they are being screened, alleviating bottlenecks without compromising the visitor experience.
Let's look closer at how SafePointe's AI-based weapons detection system can help your security teams achieve all the benefits listed above.
SafePointe's patented system includes an advanced 3D camera and a NVIDIA®-powered edge processor running an AI model. The AI uses the live-motion data gathered by the camera (including direction of travel, speed, and movement) and magnetic data from the bollards to identify an individual or multiple individuals carrying weapons.
The 3D camera, edge processor, and updated software let SafePointe isolate the person by drawing a box around them and showing the weapon's location on the person.
If a weapon is detected, the system promptly notifies human analysts from SoundThinking's analyst review center, who then review and confirm this information within 10 seconds, filtering out non-threats such as armed security. Once identified as a verified threat, a digital alert and a short video are sent to the facility security staff.
This combined approach of leveraging an AI weapons detection system with SafePointe human review enables security teams to respond more accurately and efficiently to a high volume of alerts without sacrificing visitor experience.
Furthermore, security teams can rest assured knowing that the state-of-the-art AI system is constantly being updated and refined in response to new data and feedback, continuously improving at a much faster rate than if these same teams were relying solely on human review.
Thanks to SafePointe's multi-prong approach that leverages both state-of-the-art AI models and SafePointe analyst review, internal security departments can accurately respond to detected threats as they arise without needing to employ additional personnel to monitor the system continuously, ultimately saving money and reducing operational cost.
Traditional metal detectors often result in long queues, impacting the visitor's experience and creating a sense of unease. SafePointe, in contrast, is a concealed weapons detection system typically deployed as non-descript bollards or within approved planters, resulting in a more pleasant experience.
An example of SafePointe's nondescript bollards outside of a building.
SafePointe can provide this pleasant visitor experience that meets rigorous safety standards largely because of AI. As entrants move past the bollards, millimeter wave technology identifies a digital signature of any magnetically conductive objects (such as weapons) by measuring the disruption to the Earth's naturally occurring magnetic field. This data (along with personal motion data from the 3D camera) is then analyzed using AI to determine whether the subject has a weapon. The alert is forwarded to an analyst for verification if a weapon is detected.
Long story short: with SafePointe, patrons enter your facility unaware they are being screened for weapons, but a lot is happening behind the scenes to create that carefree experience.
If you're a security professional interested in learning more about how an AI weapon detection system can help you detect weapons with greater accuracy and efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve throughput and visitor experience, contact us today to learn more.