Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Eastern Michigan University Adopts AI Gun Detection Solution

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/18/23

AI-based gun detection video analytics platform ZeroEyes recently announced that Eastern Michigan University in Washtenaw County, Mich., will adopt its solution on campus, according to a news release. EMU is the first higher education institution in Michigan to install an AI gun detection solution. ZeroEyes is currently the only solution of its kind holding a SAFETY Act Designation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

EMU will layer the ZeroEyes solution on top of its existing digital security cameras. Images of potential flagged firearms will be shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), staffed by U.S. military and law enforcement veterans 24 hours a day. The experts will review the threat and, if it is valid, trigger alerts and send actionable intelligence (including last known location, a visual description of the potential shooter, and gun type) to local staff and campus police in as little as 3 to 5 seconds, the news release reports.

“The integration of ZeroEyes will continue Eastern's commitment to providing a safe campus experience for all who study and work here,” said EMU President James Smith. “Ensuring a secure, inclusive, and open campus environment is an ongoing commitment by our Department of Public Safety (DPS) leadership and campus staff.”

The ZeroEyes analytics software does not include any kind of facial recognition technology, reducing risk of bias based on personal characteristics or skin color.

“In the event of gun-related violence, the advance notice offered by ZeroEyes will provide our first responders with the opportunity to intervene proactively and potentially de-escalate the situation,” said Matthew Lige, Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police at Eastern Michigan University. “It will also provide Department of Public Safety staff the ability to notify the campus community with timely and accurate information in order to make informed safety decisions.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • ZeroEyes, Academic Innovators Partner to Provide Safety Solutions

    ZeroEyes, which produces a multi-analytics weapons detection and threat intelligence platform, recently announced a partnership with Academic Innovators, according to a news release.