Wireless/Battery-Powered Gunshot Detection Sensor

Shooter Detection Systems' (SDS) wireless/battery-powered gunshot detection sensor, meets market demand for a secure and reliable dual mode wireless option that alerts building occupants and law enforcement to active shooter incidents.

Guardian Wireless sensors mirror the acoustic and infrared gunshot detection features of the company’s flagship Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection Power over Ethernet (PoE) sensors, with the addition of a lithium battery pack that negates the need for any wiring to operate the sensors. Guardian Wireless utilizes a highly secure long-range wireless technology that maintains a regular system “heartbeat”, ensuring optimum system uptime as the sensors scan the environment for gunshots while filtering out false alerts.

“We listened to the market and they’ve been asking for a reliable, zero-calibration system that meets the high-performance standards of the Guardian System,” said Christian Connors, SDS Chief Executive Officer. “We began in 2018 by refining the core Guardian technology, redesigning hardware to incorporate battery power, then sourced a wireless technology well known for its reliability and security with IoT devices. Guardian Wireless will lower the overall customer cost by as much as 40-60 percent due to the reduction in infrastructure costs. Most importantly, customers can now choose a wireless system and be assured that they are using proven, reliable gunshot detection technology from a company they trust.”

Since its introduction to the commercial market in 2014, the Guardian PoE gunshot detection sensor has been in use by hundreds of customers in Fortune 500 companies, sports stadiums, Federal Government agencies, Department of Defense bases, and other public and private institutions. Many U.S. K-12 schools, such as Phoenix Academy in North Carolina and Hooksett Schools in New Hampshire, are using the Guardian System, however school funding continues to be a major hurdle for schools looking to secure their facilities against active shooter attacks. With the wireless system SDS anticipates that their lifesaving capability will now be in financial reach of a greater number of schools struggling with limited budgets. Major corporations who tend to favor wired over wireless technology will now have a choice as to which version they and their IT departments are comfortable deploying. Additionally, larger scale installations will benefit from the reduction in installation costs and allow for more widespread deployment in larger structures.

The SDS engineering team has developed many firsts in gunshot detection, from the first gunshot detection systems used in wartime to human-worn and helicopter gunshot detection systems to Guardian, the first indoor system available to the commercial market. “This new development builds on our legacy of excellence in product engineering,” said Ronald Fowler, SDS Chief Technical Officer. “Guardian Wireless marks the first long-life battery, dual mode infrared and acoustic gunshot detection sensor with a consistent heartbeat to confirm the sensor’s operational status. This is a critical component in an IoT life safety device that until now hasn’t been successfully realized in a wireless system.”

The Guardian backend software and integrations were purposefully left unchanged in order to incorporate a combination of PoE and wireless sensors in the same deployment. Existing integrations including Genetec, Everbridge, Avigilon, and other SDS partner technologies will continue to work uninterrupted with the addition of Guardian Wireless sensors. The new sensors are also compatible with the company’s Patent-Pending handheld tester, used in installations and in annual onsite testing performed as an additional layer of compliance.

“We know that active shooters can strike anywhere at any time,” said Connors. “This very real threat makes our mission crystal clear: SDS is committed to improving the global security infrastructure by developing gunshot detection solutions that far exceed industry standards for quality, life safety and performance with solutions that will reduce response time, provide greater clarity in communications, and save lives in active shooter incidents.”