Artificial Intelligence Program To Detect Guns Piloted By SEPTA

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA — A local company headquartered in this eastern Montgomery County community that specializes in gun detection technology just landed a big client when the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said it would opt into a pilot program utilizing the artificial intelligence platform to improve safety on transit lines.

SEPTA's board announced recently that it will become the first major mass transit system to deploy the gun detection video analytics platform created by Conshohocken-based ZeroEyes.

Patch previously highlighted the ZeroEyes brand with previous reporting.

Related: AI Gun Detection Program Developed By Montco-Based Company

ZeroEyes, developed by former U.S. Military specialists, holds the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, and is currently utilized by the U.S. Department of Defense, various public school districts and universities, Fortune 500 corporate campuses and other organizations across more than 30 states.

SEPTA's board approved of the mass transit pilot program during its November meeting, according to the transit agency.

"We are committed to ensuring the safety of our riders and employees," SEPTA Board President Pasquale T. Deon, Sr., said in a statement. "While serious crimes are rare on SEPTA, evaluating this technology demonstrates the Authority's proactive approach to security."

SEPTA officials said that the transit agency has more than 30,000 security cameras throughout the transit system, and that the pilot program would utilize specific cameras at stations along SEPTA's Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines in Philadelphia.

"We appreciate the Board's support for this pilot, and it is our hope that this new technology will be another tool we can use to keep our system safe," SEPTA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Leslie S. Richards said in a statement. "If the program is successful, we will consider deploying ZeroEyes at other locations across the network."

According to a SEPTA news release, the ZeroEyes proprietary software will be layered on top of the transit agency's existing security cameras and used to help identify "brandished" firearms and subsequently alert public safety personnel and local law enforcement within three to five seconds if a gun is spotted being used in a criminal manner.

The news release mentions "brandished" guns, likely because under Pennsylvania law, as long as an individual has a license to carry guns they can legally do so on their person while riding mass transit systems like SEPTA.

It isn't just concealed carry that is allowed on mass transit; open carry is also allowed on SEPTA vehicles, with one caveat:

In Pennsylvania, individuals need a license to conceal carry in all 67 counties. Open carry is legal without a license in all counties except Philadelphia, a city of the first class, which requires a license to both conceal and open carry.

"Persons are permitted to open carry on SEPTA as long as they have a concealed carry permit," former SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel, III, confirmed in a 2017 tweet.

A look at SEPTAs list of prohibited items does not include actual firearms but does include toy or replica firearms.

Patch reached out to SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch, who confirmed that what the camera program is looking for are "brandished guns," not guns carried in holsters.

"The state laws are what we follow in terms of how people carry," Busch told Patch. "We stay consistent with that."

Someone legally openly carrying a firearm would not trigger the software, he stressed.

Images caught of someone pointing a gun at another rider, however, would trigger the system, he said.

Employees with ZeroEyes, who are made up of former U.S. Military and law enforcement specialists, monitor the program for brandished firearms 24/7, 365 days a year from an in-house operations center and offers law enforcement information about suspects including the gunman's appearance, clothing, weapon and real-time location.

ZeroEyes says it does not perform any facial recognition and it does not receive, record, store or share videos or images of any person.

In addition to the new pilot program, SEPTA highlighted other efforts it undertakes to keep mass transit riders safe such as offering increased uniformed police presence on trains, creating a virtual patrol center to monitor the surveillance camera network within the mass transit system, and equipping custodians with cellphones to help facilitate direct community with SEPTA transit police officers.

SEPTA provides bus and train service throughout the greater Philadelphia region including the City of Philadelphia, as well as Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester Counties.