In the aftermath of the disastrous shooting in Uvlade, Texas, school districts across the country spent much of their summer vacation reviewing their safety measures and security plans.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest trend in school security. Iterate.ai is using a technology similar to the one used to track down criminals with the help of license plates and facial recognition, for detecting people with weapons when they approach a school.
According to Iterate founder Brian Santhianathan, their platform was trained in a large catalog of weapons using 25,000 images.
He further stated that the platform has also been trained to detect knives, sharp objects, and things such as Kevlar vests. Also, training has been given to detect robbery masks as well as medical masks.
According to Santhianathan, their technology is already preventing armed robberies at two thousand convenience stores across Europe.
He also mentioned that they wanted to assist in adding another layer of security to all of the tools out there.
The Iterate.ai platform identifies weapons on someone approaching a school from up to 100 feet away and with a 270-degree field of view.
A video stream feed is taken or our AI systems tap into those video feeds and run our AI system through there, Santhianathan explained.
The software is integrated into the security system of a school and can trigger an alert and response. Doors can be locked, whatever action is necessary, he said.
Tim Armelli of the Coach Hall Foundation, which was established in the aftermath of the fatal shooting at Chardon High School, sees value in the possible response time, with a school resource officer on site, to respond to this threat detection.
It is well known that in school systems if it goes to the police department, there could be a 3-4 minute lag before they will be able to reach the building. In our incident, we are aware that, once the shooting began, the shooter left the building in less than a minute, Armelli said.
According to Santhianathan, their technology can identify a weapon in 30 milliseconds. That also applies to visible weapons. They are currently testing millimeter radar technology integrated with their vision.
This will be best used at vulnerable points as a metal detector, catching concealed weapons such as the machines seen at airports, but with a much smaller footprint and a much lower price tag.
Once this is out in the market, it will be less than ten thousand, Santhianathan predicted.
This is the first year that the technology will be used in schools. According to Armelli, this technology has the potential to be a game changer.
It can detect a potential incident before it occurs. The key question is, where does that response go? He explained.
Various local districts recently received hundreds of thousands in grant money to improve safety.
Anything can happen at any time. Nothing is completely foolproof. However, there are some things we require that would enable us to be much more secure than we are currently, said Dr. James Lloyd, superintendent of Olmsted Falls.
Raptor Tech’s David Rogers reports that demand usually witnessed during this time of the year has doubled.
Unfortunately, that is what prompts demand, but safety and security become very visible at that point, Rogers stated. Raptor’s volunteer and emergency management software are already in use in nearly 50 school districts in Northeast Ohio.
There are 35,000 schools in 5,000 districts across the country that use their suite of tools to help schools track drills and use a Raptor Alert.
It enables you to have a panic button that alerts everyone on campus to anything from a gas leak to an active shooter situation, he explained.
They currently have software that was recently tested in a Texas school to automate the reunification process following an emergency, and newly introduced this summer is Student Safe.
You always hear, ‘We always knew that kid in third grade was going to go off the rails.’ Our software enables you to begin capturing some of the low-level concerns that a coach, teacher, or bus driver might notice. And if enough things happen in quick succession, or if it’s a high enough level of concern, you let the counselor know so you can wrap that kid up in the right type of services, Rogers explained.
Schools can use the Student Safe data to conduct behavioral threat assessments.
It really offers insight into what’s going on in that child’s life and early mediation is required so you are not put in a situation where they turn into a threat or an active shooter, he explained.
These same tools can help prevent bullying and suicide.
One of the first things Armelli advises schools when considering new security products is to consult with their local first responders and inform them of potential roadblocks they will face in an incident.
We own bullet-resistant glass or films that go over it, and if the fire department has to breach, they believe the quickest way is through glass, which they cannot do. They’re wasting valuable time, Armelli said.
He claims that they’ve been researching products on the market and informing schools about some of the snags and defects before districts put their faith and precious school safety dollars into them.
In a crisis, you lose a lot of your fine motor skills, and some of these products require you to turn, push, or key, which is very difficult to do in a stressful situation, he explained.
Armelli claims he hasn’t seen any price gouging as a result of the high demand this summer. And not every school security measure has to be expensive, such as installing speakers in hallways rather than just classrooms.
Some solutions may be as simple as a door or design choice, such as placing the window on the opposite side of the lock and handle, preventing an intruder from breaking the window, and reaching in.
According to Rogers, if a district purchases everything Raptor Tech has to offer except Student Safe, it will cost less than outfitting a pair of football players, which will be around 1800 dollars per school.
Iterate has a much lower price point for schools than it does for commercial customers in order to make good on their intentions to do good with this AI technology.
Installing their technology would require a $5,000 to $10,000 initial investment, followed by a $1,000 annual fee per school.
Armelli says the amount of attention given to school safety makes him feel more at ease as the school year begins, and he is grateful that many schools are adopting the “it won’t happen here” mentality and investing time and money in keeping kids safe.
