Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection
Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform.
At a press conference held at the Capital Factory today, leaders from St. Thomas University in Houston, Valor School in Austin, St. Julian Episcopal Church in Austin, the Capital Factory, law enforcement, and security technology experts shared why they are adopting the technology.
“Our goal is to change how cameras use proactive solutions, and how the end user can respond in realtime,” said Dean Drako, founder and CEO of Eagle Eye Networks, who has led the charge on a three-year research and development project.
While millions of security cameras are installed worldwide, they are not generally used for proactive security. Now, with Eagle Eye Gun Detection, schools and businesses can transform their existing security cameras from a passive recording device into a proactive gun detection system, a vital tool for prevention and protection.
Eagle Eye Gun Detection analyzes video streams with AI to detect brandished guns. Early detection gains schools and businesses valuable time to take action and potentially save lives in an active shooter situation. Combined with Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing, the 911 center also gains secure access, enabling 911 operators can give first responders vital information about what is happening at the scene of an emergency.
Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States, surpassing car accidents and other causes in recent years, according to data from the CDC. In 2024, there were 503 mass shootings in the US. More than 3,700 children and teens under 18 were injured, and 1,403 died. It is also a major public safety, public health, and economic concern. The annual economic impact of gun violence in the U.S. is estimated at $557 billion, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
To deliver the highest possible visual gun detection accuracy, Eagle Eye engineered a Triple-layer Verification system that uses two levels of AI and one level of human verification. Eagle Eye’s Triple-layer Verification consists of:
1. Rapid Edge AI: Video from security cameras is continuously analyzed for potential brandished guns by the Eagle Eye AI Bridge on location at the school or business. An AI model appropriately sized for widespread edge deployment is utilized.
2. Advanced Cloud AI: When a potential gun is detected, the appropriate video is instantly transmitted to the Eagle Eye Cloud for analysis by a very large-scale Eagle Eye AI model. The use of a very large model in the cloud provides accuracy and reduces false positives.
3. Eagle Eye Human Review Service: When the Advanced Cloud AI detects an actual gun, the Eagle Eye Human Review Service, staffed with trained professionals, verifies that a gun is present. The customer’s emergency response sequence and notifications are then executed. The response typically includes SMS messages, phone calls, and emails to key security or company personnel, law enforcement, response service, key executives, and emergency responders.
Additional benefits of the system include:
- The Eagle Eye Cloud VMS (video management system) is the first and only VMS with integrated gun detection.
- As part of the Eagle Eye Cloud VMS, an open platform, Eagle Eye Gun Detection customers can easily add additional AI features and integrate with an unlimited number of third-party technology providers.
- Eagle Eye Gun Detection works in conjunction with Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing to give 911 operators access to live and recorded video feeds from security cameras near the scene of an emergency, dramatically improving situational awareness for first responders and response time.
Unfortunately, no single technology can solve gun violence, it requires a multi-layered approach where different techniques—such as visual gun detection, access control, metal detectors, panic buttons, training of staff and students, execution of practice drills, fencing, secure areas, and other physical barriers—provide different layers of security and work in concert with human oversight to ensure optimal protection. Eagle Eye Gun Detection adds a crucial new layer that should be used in a comprehensive approach to ensure safety.
Business, school, and church leaders praised Eagle Eye Gun Detection as an essential technology for all organizations.
Also speaking at the press conference, Matthew Schwandt, director of operations at Valor School, in Austin, Texas, said that “Security should not be a distraction for us.” Schwandt said. “This is an opportunity to add another layer to security.”