The Department of Homeland Security‘s Science and Technology Directorate and Shooter Detection Systems have completed the development of a portable outdoor gunshot detection technology that is able to quickly supply information regarding outdoor shooting incidents to first responders.
The novel SDS Outdoor System can be deployed for temporary events including pop-up rallies, open-field concerts and other situations that lack infrastructure or fixed deployment support, the department announced on Thursday.
“Many U.S. gunshot detection technologies are not easily deployed in the field or at temporary locations,” DHS Undersecretary of Science and Technology Dimitri Kusnezov said.
“This mobile capability will help responders approach gun violence incidents with greater awareness, reducing response times and increasing responder safety,” he emphasized.
SDS Outdoor is an improved version of the commercial Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System. Its dependence not just on the sound, but also on the flash of a gunshot, minimizes the risk of detecting false positives.
Last month, the technology underwent trials conducted by the directorate’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory and the First Responder Technology Program in an Operational Field Assessment at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Feedback from the testing was used to make the system more effective.
