How AI technology could help Pittsburgh-area schools enhance security

New artificial intelligence technology could soon help enhance security at local school districts with the help of WiFi spatial intelligence. 

Wi-AI, developed by CurvePoint at Carnegie Mellon University, is designed to detect weapons in real-time.

"Wi-AI provides real-time situational awareness while protecting student privacy and detecting concealed objects through materials such as backpacks or bags. Wi-AI gives districts a proactive approach to safety that is both cost-effective and unobtrusive," said Skip Smith, the CEO of CurvePoint.

The weapon detection system is being installed at Hempfield Area High School this week and has already been installed at Chartiers Valley School District.

"It's phenomenal technology. What the technology really does is detect humans and objects in space. That's what the technology does," Smith said. "We measure the refraction, the reflection and the distortion of WiFi signal waves that are happening all around us."

Wi-AI is being trained to detect guns, knives and possibly, one day, vapes, all without the use of a camera.

"Our system isn't ocular. It doesn't have a lens. It doesn't work that way," Smith said. "There's no biometric information. I can't scan your retina, for example. The technology just doesn't have that fine of detail. So, we don't keep or maintain any human identifiable information."

Over the next 30 to 60 days, the technology will work to collect data and train to search for weapons as students and staff enter the high school.

If a weapon is detected, the WiFi will be disrupted.

"We see this signal distortion of radio frequency waves so we can turn that into a rendering of a person with a gun, but it's not identifiable," Smith said.

Once that signal is disrupted, that's when the program can signal surveillance video to take a picture of the person detected and notify the school.

"Essentially, if that happens, a signal goes to the district who designates certain people, administrators, school police, district administrators. They get notification and are able to investigate further," said Jamie Schmidt, the director of innovation and strategic partnerships and safety at Hempfield Area School District.

Schmidt said Wi-AI can add an additional layer of safety on top of metal detectors already in place.

"What we currently use is a program that identifies weapons that are out and somebody is carrying it. This provides another layer of safety if there's an event after school and somebody hides a weapon in a locker or someone is able to get through the metal detector or bookbag search, a student comes in and has it hidden, it's able to identify that. It adds another layer of safety," Schmidt said.

CurvePoint said its goal is to get 15 total schools involved to make the program stronger over the next few months.

"I want to be very transparent about this, the current model operates at a 95% accuracy. So, you know, we are not 100%. This is new technology and we have in our testing so far about a 4% false positive rate," Smith said.  "Those are great numbers to attack a very big problem in the school industry."

"Adding additional safety deterrents, including concealed weapon detection, is critical to the future of school safety in our district," said Dr. Mark Holtzman, the Superintendent of Hempfield Area School District.