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PHILADELPHIA and SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — ZeroEyes, the creators of the only AI-based gun detection video analytics platform that holds the US Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, and AEGIX Global, a Utah-based provider of industry-leading safety and personal protection resources, technology, equipment and training, today announced that the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) has granted AEGIX a $3 million contract to distribute ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness platform to Utah schools.

Utah’s 2023 House Bill (H.B.) 61 enabled USBE to administer a grant program for school safety, security and materials, which included the issuing of a request for proposal (RFP) for firearm detection software. Having awarded the contract to AEGIX, the exclusive ZeroEyes reseller for the state, the board will present the ZeroEyes platform to all Utah school districts for consideration. Interested districts will acquire the software from AEGIX, who will coordinate with ZeroEyes to provide full onboarding, training, installation and support.

“ZeroEyes transforms everyday digital security cameras into proactive defense against active shooters, detecting guns the instant they are brandished so that schools and first responders are alerted before the first shot is fired,” said Chet Linton, CEO of AEGIX. “We applaud Utah’s increased focus on school safety and security measures, and are proud to present ZeroEyes as part of a Comprehensive Incident Response Framework to help protect students and faculty across the state.”

ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software is layered onto schools’ existing digital security cameras. If a gun is identified, images will instantly be shared with the ZeroEyes Operations Center (ZOC), staffed 24/7/365 by specially trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans. If these experts determine that the threat is valid, they will dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence, including visual description, gun type and last known location, to local staff and law enforcement in as fast as 3 to 5 seconds from detection.

“We have developed a strong partnership with AEGIX because we share the same passion for protecting children,” said Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. “We congratulate them on this important win and look forward to helping protect all Utah schools against gun-related violence.”

Today’s announcement follows the May 2023 integration of ZeroEyes into the AEGIX AIM active incident management platform to create a sole-source solution uniquely built for Utah public schools.

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 a promising anti-terrorism technology and is the first video analytics technology to receive SAFETY Act DT&E Designation.

Founded by Navy SEALs, Special Operations military veterans, and 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, in as fast 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 ZeroEyes.com.

About AEGIX Global
AEGIX Global exists for one purpose: to keep people safe. Emergencies and critical incidents are unpredictable and when they happen, nothing can replace adequate preparation to calm the chaos and manage the situation successfully. AEGIX Global takes action to discover and develop solutions aligned to the best practices of the Comprehensive Incident Response (CIR) Framework. Software, site evaluation and professional services are the three main pillars that make up AEGIX Global’s safety solutions. For more information, please visit AEGIXAIM.com.

SOURCE ZeroEyes

SALT LAKE CITY — After a wave of school shooting hoaxes swept through the Beehive State in March, Utah-based AEGIX announced a partnership with ZeroEyes to bring artificial intelligence to the fight against school shootings.

The partnership combined the resources of AEGIX — a provider of industry-leading resources, technology, equipment and training for first responders — with ZeroEyes, the company behind the only AI-based gun detection video analytics platform that holds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation.

Now, through a $3 million dollar contract awarded to AEGIX from the Utah State Board of Education on Thursday, the company hopes to bring the technology to more school districts throughout the state.

“ZeroEyes transforms everyday digital security cameras into proactive defense against active shooters, detecting guns the instant they are brandished so that schools and first responders are alerted before the first shot is fired,” Chet Linton, CEO of AEGIX, said in a statement. “We applaud Utah’s increased focus on school safety and security measures, and are proud to present ZeroEyes as part of a Comprehensive Incident Response Framework to help protect students and faculty across the state.”

According to the AEGIX website, the company is currently working with the Salt Lake City School District, Cache County School District, Logan City School District, Park City School District, as well as the Salt Lake City Police Department and Cache County Sheriff’s Office.

Through the grant, board of education will present the ZeroEyes technology to all Utah school districts for consideration. Interested districts will acquire the software from AEGIX, which will then coordinate with ZeroEyes to provide full onboarding, training, installation and support.

How does it work?

Through the partnership, ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and situational awareness software will be integrated into the AEGIX AIM active incident management platform to create a sole-source solution uniquely built for Utah public schools, according to a May release from AEGIX.

The AEGIX AIM system allows individuals in an organization — like a school — to notify others of a crisis with the touch of a button. In the event of an active shooter scenario, teachers can push a button in the app to let administrators and first responders know if they are safe or not.

Additionally, AEGIX AIM can be operated from a desktop, laptop or smartphone.

First responders, who are part of the system, will have the capability to view “dynamic, interactive” maps of a school campus, ranging from the outside of the building to individual classrooms. This function lets users know where the emergency is and where first responders should direct their attention while also enabling real-time communication between victims and first responders within a patented chat feature.

Utah-based AEGIX on Wednesday announced a partnership with ZeroEyes to bring artificial intelligence to the fight against school shootings.

“You have these students and staff who are really on their own for a moment of time, right? And what do you do then? What do you do?” Justin Chapman, director of training at AEGIX GLOBAL, asked KSL-TV last year.

Before joining AEGIX, Chapman was a captain at the Sandy Police Department, where he worked for 28 years before expanding his work to explore other avenues of assisting law enforcement.

“The quicker we can get in there, the more protection we can give them while they’re waiting for law enforcement. We anticipate that that will translate to lives saved and a better outcome overall,” Chapman said.

As far as ZeroEye’s role in the technology, its “proactive visual gun detection and situational awareness software platform” is layered onto existing digital security cameras at schools, where it identifies illegally brandished guns and immediately shares images with a specialized group of U.S. military and law enforcement veterans at one of the ZeroEyes Operation Centers, which are staffed around-the-clock for 365 days a year, according to the release.

Once the experts are able to verify a threat, they dispatch alerts and actionable intelligence — including visual description, gun type and last known location — to local school staff and law enforcement in as quick as three to five seconds from detection.

“We have developed a strong partnership with AEGIX because we share the same passion for protecting children,” Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes, said in a statement. “We congratulate them on this important win and look forward to helping protect all Utah schools against gun-related violence.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Two months ago, a rash of hoax school shooting calls made their way through Utah from Cache to Washington counties, prompting swift responses from law enforcement across the state.

As may be expected from a state known for a bustling business and tech scene, the Beehive State and its businesses are constantly pushing the envelope of new ideas and innovation and Utah-based AEGIX on Wednesday announced a partnership with ZeroEyes to bring artificial intelligence to the fight against school shootings.

“In the face of increasing gun-related violence in U.S. schools, it is crucial that Utah districts invest in proactive technology solutions that provide threat detection, situational awareness and incident management and response,” Nephi Police Chief Michael Morgan said in a release from the companies. “Our most important job is to keep our students, faculty and communities safe, so we must leverage the strongest and most effective tools available.”

The partnership combines the resources of AEGIX — a provider of industry-leading resources, technology, equipment and training for first responders — with ZeroEyes, the company behind the only AI-based gun detection video analytics platform that holds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation.

AEGIX currently works with multiple Utah school districts and police departments, its website states.

ZeroEyes’ AI gun detection and situational awareness software will be integrated into the AEGIX AIM active incident management platform to create a sole-source solution uniquely built for Utah public schools, according to the release.

The AEGIX AIM system allows individuals of an organization (like a school) to notify others of a crisis with the touch of a button. In the event of an active shooter scenario, teachers can push a button in the app to let administrators and first responders know if they are safe or not.

I was in a meeting when I heard the sirens. I immediately excused myself and saw the first squad car screech to a halt in front of our doors and knew it was bad. The police department had just received a call saying there was an active shooter somewhere at Spanish Fork High School and two students were deceased.  

As it turns out, we were the victim of a coordinated hoax that targeted schools throughout Utah and other states, but for the next 24 minutes, this was our reality and as principal, I had to act. My emotions almost got the better of me; not only do I care deeply about each and every one of our 1,469 students, but I also have a daughter who was in class just down the hall. I almost lost my motor skills but was able to pull my phone from my pocket to instantly lock down the school with the push of a button and watch our emergency plan unfold almost flawlessly before my eyes.   

To fully understand the importance and power of that simple act, we need to take a step back. I have been the school’s principal for four years. Although we had published an emergency plan and conducted drills four or five times every year, from day one, I felt there was something off or missing from those plans. We had the standard procedures and instructions for locking classrooms, counting students, and making announcements on the PA system, but nothing that would help us know what is happening at the moment, coordinate actions between law enforcement and school administrators or communicate with teachers and staff to effectively manage the chaos.  

A few months ago, I was approached by a former student who wanted to introduce me to a technology called AEGIX AIM (Active Incident Management) that other schools have implemented to address the very challenges I was worried about. We received approval from the district to install and pilot the software. As fate would have it, we finished rolling it out and conducted staff training on it exactly one week before the active shooter hoax was perpetrated.   

SALT LAKE CITY — A local company run by a retired Utah police officer believe they have a product that makes schools safer in the event of shootings like the one in Texas.

HOW TO HELP: Official ways to help families of Texas shooting victims

Justin Chapman served as a Sandy City officer for nearly 3 decades, spending about half that time teaching proper active shooter response.

Chapman is now director of training for AEGIX AIM, which is short for active incident management. The company developed an app that coordinates the location of an incident, particularly school buildings, with local first responders and law-enforcement.

Once the program is purchased, AEGIX maps out the facility and stores it in the app. Then, in the event of a real emergency, a teacher or staff member can immediately relay location and information to first responders, which streamlines the response.

“To give additional information including pictures, chat functions, all that information in real time, and it’s shared across a broad group of people within the school and within the first responder communities so that our responses as first responders can be more specific and certainly more efficient and quicker,” said Chapman.

AEGIX also has additional, hands-on products like collapsible shields which can be used by first responders as well as teachers and staff members a inside particular school.

Right now, AEGIX is working with school officials and law-enforcement in Cache County and hop other schools will soon take part.

SOURCE: Utah company creates app to keep schools safe

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