Airobotics, an Israeli manufacturer of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and aerial data systems, announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with the American company ShotSpotter to sell and deploy its gunshot detection technology in Israel.
Airobotics will offer an integrated solution for detecting, locating, and alerting police to gunfire incidents while providing live video footage and stills of the crime scene from UAVs in Israeli urban areas. Outdoor gunfire will be located by ShotSpotter’s network of acoustic sensors with precise coordinates communicated in real-time to Airobotics UAVs that will immediately fly to the scene providing critical visual information to first responders that are in route.
The issue of illegal firearms, and in particular shootings, is at the heart of the public debate in Israel. Between 2017 and 2020, approximately 5,200 shooting cases were opened, with only 575 indictments filed. Indictments were not filed in two thirds of cases because the shooter was unknown.
“Airobotics believes that integrating with ShotSpotter, the leader in gunshot detection, will provide a better technological solution for dealing with gunfire crime in Israel,” said Meir Kliner, CEO of Airobotics. “This partnership is another step in the company’s strategy to expand the scope of its activities by providing solutions for emergency response, security, and flight in urban areas.”
Airobotics has developed an autonomous UAV system capable of performing missions 24/7 without human intervention. The company has extensive experience with tens of thousands of UAV flight hours, and transfer of live video that gives law enforcement the essential data they need to act quickly, accurately and safely. Unlike other UAVs on the market today, Airobotics’ UAVs can take off and return to a dedicated docking station, replacing battery and/or sensors and take off again, even in harsh environmental conditions, and all without human intervention.
ShotSpotter has been detecting gunfire for law enforcement for 25 years and is deployed in more than 120 cities in the US, South Africa and the Caribbean. The system analyzes loud, impulsive sounds detected by its acoustic sensors using a combination of artificial intelligence and human review to locate the sounds and determine if they are gunshots with a high degree of accuracy. The entire process from trigger pull to published alert takes place in less than 60 seconds.
“ShotSpotter is excited to partner with Airobotics to develop a new market and help Israeli law enforcement respond more quickly and precisely to incidents of gunfire,” said Ralph A. Clark, President and CEO of ShotSpotter. “Every second counts, and our alerts combined with Airobotics ‘eyes in the sky’ increase the likelihood of locating a victim and saving their life, finding critical evidence and more proactively addressing gun violence in Israel.”
Source: Press Release