Philadelphia’s Temple University adds AI weapon detection system to help with campus security

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Philadelphia’s Temple University is turning to artificial intelligence to strengthen campus safety, incorporating new technology to help manage the network of surveillance cameras monitoring the campus.

The university, with a student population of more than 30,000, currently has 1,500 active security cameras.

“There’s absolutely, physically no way that someone can monitor 1,500 cameras, some of them with multiple views,” Temple Police Chief Jennifer Griffin said.

To address this, Temple Police are partnering with a company called ZeroEyes. The company’s software will be used to monitor footage from 150 of the campus cameras in real-time, scanning for any visible weapons.

“Our AI is going to detect it and send it to an operation center where it is going to be verified by a person who knows how to deliver the information to the people who need to know,” Rob Huberty, chief operating officer at ZeroEyes, said.

If the AI identifies a potential threat, trained professionals at ZeroEyes will verify the alert before notifying Temple Police on duty, who will receive a description of the threat along with the camera’s location. The entire process takes only a matter of seconds.

“If this looks like a weapon, we’re going to deploy. If they’re not sure, we’re going to deploy,” Griffin said.

The initiative has garnered support from many students on campus.

“I think it’s really great. I think fast action is really important, especially when there are guns involved,” sophomore Sarah Bhanushali said.

“I think it’s good there’s threat detection — I think we need more of it,” sophomore Maizah Ali said.

“Some people might have some privacy concerns, but if there’s already cameras everywhere, I don’t really see that as a big deal,” Noah Sommer, a senior, said.

While Temple officials did not disclose the cost of the AI system, Griffin emphasized that the university will closely evaluate its effectiveness.

“You can’t just use one initiative to solve gun violence,” Griffin said.

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