ShotSpotter which provides incredible technology for sound detection of gunshots has revealed it has engaged in talks with Current by GE to include its sensors in streetlights in Smart City initiatives all over the world.
Shot Spotter is already in over 90 cities across the US - and law enforcement officials say it's now a critical tool for them as they attempt to fight violent crime which has devastated many neighborhoods in America.
However, police say the revolutionary innovation has been a huge success for them in their attempts to crackdown on gun violence.
In cities or urban areas that don't have ShotSpotter sensors included in their streetlights it's often extremely difficult to pinpoint or determine exactly where a gunshot was fired and how dangerous that situation might be.
However, with this surveillance from ShotSpotter it enables law enforcement officials to triangulate gunfire within 10 feet of where the shot was fired - and more importantly for them it determines how many shooters are at the location before they arrive at the scene.
ShotSpotter can be installed as a standalone device, and discreetly located on rooftops and other out of sight areas to prevent tampering. ShotSpotter's software can also be included in sensors installed in GE's smart streetlights with Current by GE.
This is part of Current's IoT platform within cities. The first version came out last year, and the second-generation sensor is launching early next year, said Austin Ashe, general manager of Intelligent Cities at Current.
"We launch our product next year it will be 'ShotSpotter ready.' We call it 'ShotSpotter ready' because the city still needs to go to ShotSpotter and say, 'Hey, we want to turn on this service."
"We are already integrating ShotSpotter into nodes. This is the next generation."
"Current's sensors in Smart City streetlights will also have environmental, parking, and traffic nodes to provide data to cities for real-time analysis. The sensors already had a gunshot detection node being added, but it was missing some of the essential elements that ShotSpotter provides, including the ability to instantly calculate where the gunshot came from and how many shooters there are," Ashe said.
Ashe added: "We talked about ShotSpotter putting their technology on our node. That way when we deploy our sensors throughout a city, the city can literally turn on a switch through the ShotSpotter app and get gunshot detection in a much broader coverage than just the gun violence area of a city. It expands the entire gun detection network."
ShotSpotter also introduced a new mobile app that extends ShotSpotter with real-time gunfire alerts so that police officers will have access to the service beyond the dispatch office or squad car.
Ralph Clark, CEO of ShotSpotter, said: "The thing we've come to know about gun violence is it's significantly under-recorded. Where we're deployed we know that about 80% of gunfire does not get reported by traditional means such as 911. Even when those calls do come in, they come in 20-30 minutes after the shots are fired."
"We want to deploy it in as many Smart Cities as we can and we're engaged with Current by GE to try and extend the reach of our products, not only in more cities here in the USA - but also on a global scale with other cities who have adopted smart city design initiatives."