Latest news with #JerryLager
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Texas charter school deploying AI software that can detect guns via camera feed; how it works
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Artificial intelligence is integrating into the daily lives of Texans more and more as the state is believed to be poised as one of the nation's leaders in AI and technology. One company, founded in 2018 by a group of Navy SEALs, is using AI to expand safety against the threat of firearms in schools. ZeroEyes uses AI to detect the presence of guns spotted by surveillance cameras. It was the first AI-based gun detection video analytics platform to earn the full U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation. RELATED | Schools are turning to artificial intelligence to spot guns On Tuesday, Ki Charter became the first charter school system in Texas to deploy the software. 'We serve a student population that requires an exceptional level of care and security, and I was initially skeptical of ZeroEyes, but after seeing the technology in action, I knew we needed it,' Superintendent Jerry Lager said in a press release. 'Our largest campus spans 65 open acres, making security a complex challenge. ZeroEyes provides that extra layer of protection, ensuring our students and staff are in a safe environment.' Ki Charter has campuses in San Marcos, Liberty Hill, Austin, Temple, Arlington, Fort Worth, Denton, and Kingwood, and serves over 6,500 students annually. According to its website, the school system 'is the premier educational provider for students who reside in residential facilities (RFs) and day centers.' Ki Charter 'reduces learning gaps to help students learn behavioral management strategies and improve their communication skills,' per its website. Co-founder Sam Alaimo said it took about two years to build the algorithm that ZeroEyes uses. The software is layered onto existing digital security cameras to detect guns. If a gun is identified by the software, images are shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center, which Alaimo said was modeled after the military's Tactical Operations Center. The operations center is the industry's only U.S.-based, fully in-house operations center, which is staffed 24/7 by specially trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans, according to the company. If experts in the operations center determine a threat and notify law enforcement and school security, they include information like a visual description, gun type, and last known location when sending those alerts. Alaimo broke down the process: '[The] algorithm says, 'I think it's a gun.' Human verifies it's a gun, hits dispatch. Client gets the alert.' That happens in just a few seconds. 'So in the real world, on schools, subway platforms, shopping malls, you name it, once that gun is exposed in front of a client camera, within about three to five seconds, that client will get that image, as well as local law enforcement. And what we're trying to do is cut through the fog of war,' Alaimo said. 'It's like a pure situational awareness tool.' Alaimo said ZeroEyes helped prevent a potential tragedy in Texas last year when three people showed up at an elementary school with AK-47s. 'This is what we're in the business of detecting,' Alaimo said. 'We detect guns every single week at this point, and it's an interesting position to be in, because when we send an alert like this, and people get arrested, there is no mass shooting. So we can't quantify how many mass shootings didn't happen as a result of our software working.' Alaimo said the company was founded after the 2018 Parkland, Florida, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 'We were all kind of commiserating on, hey, we need to do something meaningful again. We want to be of service again,' Alaimo said. 'And in 2018, the Parkland shooting happened, and that was when America did a bit more introspection after one of these massive shootings, and decided that we wanted to do something about it.' 'So we all quit our jobs and decided to found ZeroEyes with the intent to keep kids safe from mass shootings,' Alaimo continued. 'And we started the company, bootstrapped it. It took about two years to build the algorithm, and we finally had it ready to go to market in 2020.' Alaimo said the software had 'a lot of good traction with K-12' at the time, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed the company's plans because of schools going into lockdown. At that point, ZeroEyes went into the commercial space, which Alaimo said was 'a good move.' 'We found that, you know, identifying guns in subway platforms and in grocery stores and on Navy bases actually made us better at identifying guns in a school environment,' he said. 'So… there's a lot of ways that training the algorithm in very diverse environments strengthens it.' In 2021, ZeroEyes founders were able to get back to their passion of 'keeping kids safe.' Now, the software is deployed across 46 states in K-12 schools, in higher education, and in various commercial spaces. The cost of implementing the software depends on the needs of the client. Pricing is primarily based on the number of camera streams that will have ZeroEyes installed, according to its website. 'It usually goes between 20 and $60 per camera stream per month, higher if it's a small [number of cameras], what, like, 25 camera streams for one year, and much, much lower if it's a large number of cameras over, over three or five years,' Alaimo explained. Alaimo said because it's a new technology that not many schools have the money budgeted for, ZeroEyes has grant writers on staff to help schools find the money to pay for it. The company also works with legislators and will lobby governments, he said. 'Money shouldn't be the reason why a school does not have our software. So for that reason, we actually have grant writers on staff to help schools find the money,' Alaimo said. 'And that's one of the reasons we try to work with legislatures as often as we can, because once they know we exist, then it's like, all right, how do we get money to get them out there?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Ki Charter Becomes First Charter School in Texas to Deploy ZeroEyes AI Gun Detection Technology
Advanced AI Solution Enhances Campus Safety by Providing Proactive Gun Detection and Intelligent Situational Awareness PHILADELPHIA, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeroEyes, the creators of the first AI-based gun detection video analytics platform to earn the full US Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, today announced that its solution has been deployed by Ki Charter to safeguard students, faculty and staff against gun-related threats. It is the first charter school in Texas to adopt the industry-leading proactive gun detection and intelligent situational awareness technology. Serving a unique population of behaviorally challenged students, Ki Charter has adopted multiple technologies and de-escalation techniques to ensure the safety of its students and personnel. Its Safety and Security Committee assesses and refines policies and safety measures, while the Campus Safety and Threat Assessment teams work closely with law enforcement and mental health resources to prevent and mitigate potential threats. The deployment of ZeroEyes' AI technology further strengthens this comprehensive security strategy by providing real-time gun detection capabilities. 'We serve a student population that requires an exceptional level of care and security, and I was initially skeptical of ZeroEyes,' said Jerry Lager, Superintendent of Ki Charter. 'But after seeing the technology in action, I knew we needed it. Our largest campus spans 65 open acres, making security a complex challenge. ZeroEyes provides that extra layer of protection, ensuring our students and staff are in a safe environment.' Ki Charter is the premier educational provider for students who reside in residential facilities (RFs) and day centers across Texas. The school has campuses in San Marcos, Liberty Hill, Austin, Temple, Arlington, Fort Worth, Denton, and Kingwood, and serves over 6,500 students annually (500% mobility rate) with a dedicated team of more than 120 educators and staff. With small class sizes and engaging curriculum, Ki Charter reduces learning gaps to help students learn behavioral management strategies and improve their communication skills. ZeroEyes' AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software layers onto existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images are instantly shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), the industry's only U.S.-based, fully in-house operation center, which is staffed 24/7/365 by specially trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans. If these experts determine the threat is valid, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type, and last known location — to local law enforcement and school security as quickly as 3 to 5 seconds from detection. 'At ZeroEyes, we understand the complexities of protecting students in specialized environments like Ki Charter,' said Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. 'We're proud to offer our AI gun detection technology as an additional layer of security to help protect students, faculty, and staff in this unique setting.' About ZeroEyes ZeroEyes delivers a proactive, human-verified AI gun detection software solution that integrates into existing digital security cameras and helps to mitigate mass shootings and gun-related violence by reducing response times, providing actionable intelligence with images, and delivering clarity among chaos — ultimately saving lives. ZeroEyes' patented solution has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as an effective anti-terrorism technology and was the first AI-based gun detection technology to receive full SAFETY Act Designation. Founded by Navy SEALs and elite technologists, ZeroEyes dispatches accurate and real-time actionable intelligence about the illegal brandishing of a gun near or in an occupied area or building, to local staff and law enforcement with an image of the shooter(s) and location of the threat, as quickly as 3 to 5 seconds from the moment the gun is detected. The ZeroEyes team also provides tech consulting, installation assistance, and practice drills for active shooter events to enhance safety at schools, corporate, and government facilities. Headquartered in the Greater Philadelphia area, the company's affordable and effective gun detection solution has been adopted by the US Department of Defense, leading public K-12 school districts, colleges/universities, healthcare facilities, commercial property groups, manufacturing plants, Fortune 500 corporate campuses, shopping malls, big-box retail stores and more. Learn more about ZeroEyes at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ZeroEyes
