Aegis AI
Problem: Many organizations are seeking low-cost and inconspicuous ways to protect their occupants against gun violence. They often provide extra protection by installing camera systems that monitor key areas. However, security footage from cameras are rarely or never monitored due to budget constraints.
Solution: Aegis' computer vision software turns any security camera into a gun-detecting smart camera, eliminating the need for human monitoring and alerting key personnel when a threat is detected. Upon detection, the system alerts customer decision-makers, who then review footage and call the police if a firearm is confirmed.
Impact: Our solution reduces the time it takes to notify police to less than 10 seconds upon gun detection. Upon arrival, police also have access to a visual and the current location of the shooter - information may not have using traditional security measures.
During a mass shooting, bystanders’ priority is getting to safety, not calling 911. Police don’t learn of most shootings until 5 minutes after the trigger is pulled, and it takes squad cars 18 minutes to arrive. 60% of mass shootings end before police arrive. Moreoever, police often have ambiguous information about the incident (i.e. visual/description or location of shooter) upon arrival, impending their efforts to neutralize the threat.
The odds of any given school experiencing a gun violence incident is 1 in 1,400 per year. This is a serious problem, but not one that schools can invest millions of dollars in mitigating. The most common way that our customers think about providing extra protection is by installing camera systems that monitor key public areas. However, due to their budgets, they can only afford to hire one security person to monitor 100-200 cameras, or they do not monitor the cameras on a regular basis, resulting in an underuse of expensive security hardware.
The three markets Aegis is looking to target are: education, commercial and public venues.
The $2.8B education market is our initial focus segment, due to schools’ understandable focus on gun crime prevention. School leaders are highly concerned and enthusiastic about gun violence mitigation technology, with most customers telling us that school safety is their number one priority.
The commercial segment has a $4.7B market size and is increasingly concerned with gun violence due to potential armed robberies, recent shooting incidents involving disgruntled employees, or violence against media companies. There is also increased concern about legal liability by building managers or owners when a violent event occurs. Despite the sizable market, overall there is less focus on gun violence among commercial buildings than in the education segment, making commercial customers a secondary focus for Aegis’ initial sales effort.
Public venues and infrastructure are a third priority currently. Public spaces such as public transport stations have a large number of cameras per location (500-5,000 units) and have strong demand for violence prevention. The segment has a market size of about $1B.
The Aegis solution automatically detects firearms in your existing security camera feeds, providing early warning and dramatically improving law enforcement response.
Aegis’ technology is based on deep learning-based computer vision algorithms with a model that recognizes guns in frames from surveillance cameras. Once a weapon is detected, the system can alert any stakeholder the customer specifies in almost any way: Text, email, or phone call. Alerts go out within 1 second of the system receiving an image from the customer’s VMS.
- Promote physical safety by decreasing violence or transportation accidents
- Growth
