ZeroEyes Inc., a startup that’s best known for its computer vision-based gun detection technology, is expanding its platform to spot people carrying knives and track suspects as it pushes to become a more comprehensive system for public safety.

Today’s update transforms ZeroEyes from a niche threat detection tool into a full-fledged intelligence platform for physical security teams. Its new capabilities include artificial intelligence-based knife detection, a non-invasive system for tracking individuals of interest, and a general analytics suite that enables security personnel to respond to critical security problems.

The startup explained that it’s trying to address one of the major pain points in physical security at public locations today, namely the delayed response to real threats. Traditionally, security teams have had to juggle multiple fragmented systems to enable monitoring, detection and investigation. This often leads to critical information being lost, slowing down any response during life-threatening emergencies.

Though firearms remain a major concern, especially in the U.S., the reality is that there are many other kinds of threats that security teams need to deal with. These include people with bladed weapons and unauthorized intruders. By centralizing the ability to detect all types of threats in a single platform, ZeroEyes aims to speed up emergency response.

ZeroEyes’ artificial intelligence technology is designed to be integrated with physical security cameras and automate the job of monitoring locations for security risks. The company said its platform can now manage the entire “lifecycle” of security incidents. Besides detecting individuals carrying firearms, it can identify someone carrying a knife with a blade as small as just six inches, helping it to address violent incidents where guns may not be the primary weapon used.

The platform also gains tracking capabilities for the first time, but unlike controversial facial recognition systems, it focuses on visual characteristics such as an individual’s clothing and movement to track them across multiple camera feeds. Security teams can therefore follow a suspect or person of interest as they move from place to place, and provide law enforcement teams with the intelligence needed to locate them as quickly as possible if a threat is positively identified.

ZeroEyes is rounding out the platform with new analytics features, including drone-based AI and investigative tools that can be used to reconstruct the timelines of security events.

Founder and Chief Executive Mike Lahiff, who is a former Navy SEAL, said the company wants to become the “single, trusted platform” for public safety at locations ranging from schools and hospitals to stadiums and enterprise campuses. “ZeroEyes continues to push the boundaries of what AI-powered security can deliver,” he said. “We felt that the time was right to leverage the unmatched experience and success that we’ve built in AI gun detection to give our customers a comprehensive security solution that they can trust from preparation to detection to response.”

Lahiff said the new features mean ZeroEyes is able to provide “actionable intelligence” within just three to five seconds. The moment someone pulls out a knife or a firearm, the system will immediately home in on that individual, alert security teams and identify others who may be in danger, enabling security personnel to respond almost instantly and, hopefully, save more lives.

Photos: ZeroEyes