Gunshot detection system to help save lives and curb crime in Israel
If you hear gunshots in an urban area, it is important to get police to their source as quickly as possible. To help with this task, a new system is being developed that combines autonomous drones with existing gunshot location technology.
Israeli maker of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aerial photography systems Airobotics has announced an exclusive agreement with American company ShotSpotter to sell and deploy its gunshot detection technology in Israel.
Airobotics will offer an integrated solution for detecting, locating and alerting police to firearm incidents, while providing live video and crime scene footage from drones in urban areas of Israel.
Gunfire will be detected by a network of ShotSpotter acoustic sensors, with precise coordinates transmitted in real time to Airobotics drones. The devices will immediately fly to the scene, providing critical visual information for emergency responders on their way.
Whenever such a sound is detected, its geographic point of origin can be triangulated by analyzing the difference in milliseconds at which it is picked up by different microphones: the closer a microphone is to the gun, the sooner it will detect the sound of shots fired from that gun.
The problem of illegal firearms and, in particular, shootings is at the center of public debate in Israel. Between 2017 and 2020, around 5,200 shooting cases were opened, but only 575 indictments were filed. In two-thirds of cases, no charges were brought because the shooter was unknown.
“Airobotics believes that integration with ShotSpotter, a leader in gunshot detection, will provide a better technological solution for fighting crime and firearm use in Israel. This partnership is another step in the company's strategy to expand its operations by providing solutions for emergency response, security and flight in urban areas”
Airobotics has developed an autonomous UAV system capable of performing missions 24/7 without human intervention. The company has extensive experience with tens of thousands of hours of UAV flight and real-time video transmission, giving law enforcement the data needed to act quickly, accurately and safely.
Unlike other UAVs on the market today, Airobotics devices can take off and return to a special docking station, swapping their battery and/or sensors and taking off again, even in harsh environmental conditions, all without human intervention. A robotic arm removes the device's existing battery and replaces it with a fully charged one, so the drone is ready to fly at any time.
ShotSpotter has been detecting gunfire for law enforcement for 25 years and is deployed in more than 120 cities in the US, South Africa and the Caribbean. The system analyzes loud impulsive sounds detected by its acoustic sensors, using a combination of artificial intelligence and human review to pinpoint where the sounds came from and determine with a high degree of accuracy whether they are gunshots. The entire process from trigger pull to published alert takes less than 60 seconds.
“ShotSpotter is pleased to work with Airobotics to develop a new market and help Israeli law enforcement respond more quickly and accurately to shooting incidents. Every second counts, and our alerts combined with Airobotics' "eyes in the sky" increase the chances of finding victims and saving their lives, discovering important evidence, and responding more actively to gun violence in Israel”
The service is planned to be used in urban areas across Israel.
Airobotics is an Israeli manufacturer and operator of autonomous UAVs and aerial photography platforms. Airobotics drones are used by industrial enterprises, homeland security services and smart cities, providing automated data collection and analysis services that run around the clock without human intervention and meet the needs of the world's most demanding environments.
The company is actively present in the US, Israel, Singapore and the UAE. Airobotics provides a comprehensive solution including an unmanned UAV, an automated base station, a wide range of regulatory certifications and data visualization software (Insightful), and is the first of its kind on the global market.
ShotSpotter is a leader in technology solutions for precise police monitoring that enable law enforcement to respond, investigate and deter crime more effectively. More than 120 US cities trust the company's products to make their communities safer.
The company's platform includes its flagship product ShotSpotter Respond, a leading system for detection, location and forensic analysis, and ShotSpotter Connect, patrol management software that dynamically directs patrol resources to the areas of greatest risk and prevents crime more effectively.
ShotSpotter Investigate is a case management solution that helps detectives connect the dots and share information more effectively to improve case clearance rates. ShotSpotter also serves corporate and university security system markets.
