June 27, 2005
Chicago Pairs Surveillance Cameras with Gunshot Recognition Systems
Chicago officials have installed 30 of the devices alongside video surveillance cameras in high-crime neighborhoods, with 12 more on the way, and dozens more to follow...
The system's formal name is Smart Sensor Enabled Neural Threat Recognition and Identification -- or SENTRI. And the technology is not just gaining favor in Chicago.
In Los Angeles County, the sheriff's department plans to deploy 20 units in a pilot test, and officials in Tijuana, Mexico, recently bought 353 units, (Bryan) Baker (chief executive officer of Safety Dynamics in Oak Brook, which makes the systems) said. Police in Philadelphia and San Francisco are close to launching test programs of their own, and New Orleans and Atlanta have also made inquiries.
Safety Dynamics also works with the U.S. Army and Navy, developing projects that could detect a range of sounds like diesel trucks slowing in an unexpected location or breaking glass, Baker said. On Tuesday, a military contractor in Iraq responsible for detecting explosive devices contacted the company about mounting systems on vehicles that carry U.S. military personnel.
``They want to put 20 of them on Humvees to be able to detect gunshots,'' Baker said. ``The soldiers, they're getting shot at, but they don't know where the shots are coming from.''
press release Chicago Tribune (registration required)/
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