PNW students and staff have created a cutting-edge, AI-powered gunshot detection system that may blow away its more established competitors.
This revolutionary technology can detect gunshots and alert the relevant law enforcement authorities within seconds, reducing the time it takes for police to respond to active shooter situations.
Unlike traditional detection systems, the technology developed by the Advanced Intelligence Software Lab rapidly identifies and locates gunshot sounds in real time. The system analyzes audio data and uses advanced deep learning algorithms to distinguish gunshots from other noises, enabling it to notify law enforcement within seconds—dramatically faster than the average response time of previous systems.
Researchers have tested the system in various campus buildings and conducted simulations to ensure its effectiveness.
Diya Kafle, a senior majoring in Computer Science who is an undergraduate research assistant on the project, spent 18 months researching mass school shootings and found that such incidents often last 35 minutes.
“The average duration of these events leads to significant loss of life, with around 11 innocent victims per shooting,” she said.
Delays in police response can cost extra lives.
“It takes about 5 minutes from the first shot to the first call to the police,” said Brian Miller, Public Safety director and a collaborator in the gunshot detection system’s development. “The average police response time in the U.S. is around 8 minutes. This means about 12 to 13 minutes before the police arrive at the scene.”
The new gunshot detection system notifies police in as little as 5 seconds.
“We can be anywhere on campus in about 2 to 3 minutes now,” said Miller.
Technology can also help save lives by facilitating speedier evacuations in active-shooter cases when the system is deployed in buildings.
“Deploying the system in buildings significantly increased evacuation rates, from 28.5% to 54.5%, while decreasing casualty rates,” said Yash Singh, a graduate researcher, majoring in Electrical Computer Engineering.
So far, the system has been tested both outdoors and inside PNW buildings.
“We do everything that we can to make the campus safe and one thing we can always use is the students’ help,” said Miller. “We have a program called ‘If you see something, say something’. If you see something suspicious, I would again encourage students to let us know.”
Currently, the system is live in selected buildings on PNW’s Hammond campus, with plans to expand to all 24 buildings in Hammond and soon to the Westville Campus.
