MESA, Ariz. — Two Arizona schools have turned their security camera feeds over to an AI system that constantly scans them, looking for threats.
Pinon School District in the Navajo Nation recently signed an agreement with Mesa-based Iveda for the company's AI technology. Tempe Preparatory Academy has been using the technology for more than 5 years.
"It never blinks, it never closes its eyes," Superintendent Wayne Porter said. "It's always constantly vigilant."
Iveda's system works with object and facial recognition, but goes a step further: It can determine when those things are threats. For instance, Iveda said the AI can know the difference between a school resource officer with a gun and a school shooter.
"Traditional cameras do nothing but record," Iveda CEO David Ly said. "It's always after the fact."
But Iveda's AI, Ly said, can notify school and security officials of possible threats immediately.
"It detects in real-time and notifies and alerts in real-time," Ly said.
Iveda provided photos and videos of the system in action, showing it recognizing a staged incident with a man with a handgun. It recognizes faces as well as models of weapons. Iveda provided another video showing the system recognizing a different man holding a rifle.
Iveda said the system can also detect students vaping in the halls, prohibited items, fires as they start, and even incidents of bullying happening in the view of the cameras.
"This is a layer of protection," Porter said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."
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