TROY, Ala. (WBRC) – When it comes to keeping students safe on college campuses, one university in Alabama is using artificial intelligence to improve safety.
The Troy University Police Department is currently testing Coram AI. It’s real-time artificial intelligence gun detection software that’s connected to some of the department’s cameras on campus.
TUPD recently showed WBRC how the system works. As Sgt. Andrew Garrett walked down a hallway, a camera and AI monitored him and the gun in his hand.
Within seconds, an alarm sounded. The AI program recognized a possible gun and sent alerts to the department with a description of the person and the firearm itself.
“We’ve been testing it for months and it’s been very beneficial. Every time we test them, we get a notification within 10 to 15 seconds,” Sgt. Garrett said. Sgt. Rachel Farmer says the technology is another tool to keep campus safe.
“Hopefully with this, a firearm can be detected before it even goes off. Hopefully within the seconds it takes to notify the police, we can get there and hopefully stop the whole incident from happening,” Sgt. Farmer said.
“This is the perfect use case for why AI can benefit us. It is monitoring in real time using its advanced patter recognition to spot a pattern and recognize it,” Kevin Manning, a senior compliance engineer with InventureIT and cyber security expert said.
Manning tells us this type of safety technology can be used as a “power tool” for society.
“That can actually make us better at our lives when it is used ethically and when it is used by people who are understanding what it is and isn’t capable of and pushing that forward,” Manning said.
Farmer and others say the AI technology is promising and proactive.
“Technology progressing it can have some negatives but it’s nice to have one way to show that it is really a positive thing and it can hopefully prevent the crimes,” Farmer said.
This is a three-year trial that can use up to four cameras on campus. TUPD is also hoping for more funding from the university to expand the system. Police Chief George Beaudry says he put in a request for additional funding for the next fiscal year.
When it comes to privacy concerns, Coram AI says its AI features are opt in, facial recognition isn’t mandatory and that its technology focuses on events rather than profiling individuals.
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