Local School District Deploys AI Pods to Boost Safety and Detect Weapons

The Rise of AI in School Safety

Another local school district is exploring the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the safety of its students and staff. Hempfield Area School District Superintendent Mark Holtzman first learned about this innovative technology through connections at Chartiers Valley School District. He expressed enthusiasm for the potential benefits, stating, "To me, this can only result in positives. I thought it was an incredible opportunity and an incredible idea. There’s now an emergence of specific educational tools in AI that are being utilized and that we’re trying to implement."

The technology in question is called "Wi-Ai," developed by Curve Point, a company founded at Carnegie Mellon University. According to Skip Smith, CEO and co-founder, the system has the capability to detect a gun concealed in a backpack. "We measure the refraction, reflection, and distortion of Wi-Fi signal waves that are happening all around us," he explained.

How the Technology Works

The "Sense Pods" installed at Hempfield High use AI to detect disruptions in nearby Wi-Fi signals. If a person or an object they are carrying interrupts a signal, the pod will start to detect it. "We see a signal distortion of radiofrequency waves," Smith said. "We can turn that into a rendering of a person with a gun, but it’s not identifiable."

This rendering is generated by the model instantly, showing if the disruption looks like a weapon, such as a handgun. The system is being installed at every entrance across the school. "We’re focused on doorways and doorways only," Smith noted.

Enhancing Existing Security Measures

"We already do weapons detection here," Holtzman said. "We’re not changing our processes. This is just an extra layer. We’re not losing any layers. We’re not changing the way we do our business here. We’re adding more support."

The scan does not pick up any personal information from devices and does not identify someone, since it doesn’t have a camera. "We just see that there is a person there and that they have a weapon," Smith said. "We’re not looking to monitor and track people. In fact, our technology can’t do biometric information. I can’t scan your retina. The technology doesn't have that fine of detail."

"It’s not necessarily taking any identity information or storing information about the children," Holtzman added. "It’s more about the outlines of these weapons being detected by the Wi-Fi signal."

A Less Invasive Alternative

"The software detection system would alert the designated individual by the districts," said Jamie Schmidt, Hempfield Area’s Innovation and Safety Director. "If it detects something, it doesn’t automatically send it to the state police. It’ll notify the appropriate people at the school level. They’ll investigate and take the next steps."

One aspect that this new model addresses is after-school activities. Since school resource officers only work during the school day, Wi-AI could help detect threats 24/7. "If there’s an after-school event, and a student would bring some kind of weapon and hide it in a locker without anybody seeing, Curve Point AI would be able to detect that," Schmidt said.

Accuracy and Future Developments

The model is currently 95% accurate, with four percent of errors being false positives. "The more data that we collect, the better our model will perform," Smith said. "The commonality of objects is what allows us to detect things. It’s all about the amount of training we give the model."

The more data the model collects, the more likely it is to monitor other harmful items. "The roadmap certainly includes working on vapes and other objects," Smith said. "We would like to eventually be able to map an entire school. We think we’ll have about 15 schools signed up by the end of January."

"It’ll only be focused on weapons, particularly handguns, at this particular time," Holtzman said. "Hopefully, it’ll grow to detect other weapons."

Financial Considerations and Long-Term Benefits

Hempfield is paying for the program using money from its general fund. However, if the model isn’t efficient, they’ll get that money back. "It’ll be something that I think will really benefit us from a proactive standpoint rather than reactive," Holtzman said. "As schools change, we have to change as leaders. We have to think differently and approach problems differently."