While gun laws are an extremely controversial topic today, being an American citizen means you have the right to bear arms. Unfortunately, there are far too many situations where legally and illegally owned guns are misused. Leah LaSalla from Austin, Texas, decided to build a system that uses a drone to identify the presence of a firearm before it is used.

At the 2019 MoneroKon technical conference, Leah went into detail about how a drone could be used to stop a bullet. “We’ve developed a sensor array that’s capable of detecting firearms, unspent gunpowder, things like that, through solid objects. Under clothing, in a glovebox, through a wall,” she explained. Using drones to “see” through walls is not a new concept. Drones with infrared cameras are used to see beyond what the naked eye can see in many fields.

The drone sensor array that Leah built can give users far more detail than the presence of a firearm. “We can tell the difference between a fake gun and a real gun, a loaded gun and an unloaded gun,” Leah said. “We can tell you how loaded a gun is. It’s millimeter depth radio frequency, we can actually read the ratings on the backs of the shell casings loaded inside the gun.” The drone’s sensors are linked to an AI program that then measures risks based on the proximity of a hand to the weapon.

Leah went on to explain that the drones are nonbiased. They cannot differentiate between friend or foe, age, gender, or ethnicity. The drone can only identify the physical presence of the firearm and estimate the risk of its deployment. Leah postulates that a gun detecting drone could have prevented the death of Philando Castile, who was shot 7 times by an officer at a traffic stop. Philando informed the officer of a licensed gun in the car before retrieving his documentation. The officer told him not to pull it out, which both Philando and his girlfriend agreed with.

Leah explained that an officer could deploy the drone at a routine traffic stop. “It determines, first things first,” she said, “whether or not there is a firearm present.” The officer now has the information needed to approach the vehicle with complete situational awareness. If the drone detects a gun it goes into “guardian angel” mode, ready and waiting to interact if a hand starts to approach the weapon. If the drone senses that a hand is reaching for the weapon, it immediately goes into “active shooter” mode. The drone automatically places itself in the line of danger, creating a shield between the officer and the gun. The officer, fully aware of the drone’s objectives, has time to safely react while the suspect is confused, diffusing what could have been a deadly outcome.

Leah’s drones are also armored, they can absorb the impact of a 50 caliber round. She envisions them being used in stationary positions, like the entrances of schools, or in police patrol vehicles. She said that even though the drones can and will stop a bullet that has been fired, the drones are more of a psychological deterrent, creating a wall between a possible shooter and a victim. She went on to say that a drone is a tool, not a partner, that will give an officer the time needed to make an informed decision on how to deescalate an encounter with a gun.

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