After the unfortunate and constant shootings in schools throughout the country, four students from schools in South Bahia created a device to prevent shootings called SIREN, which detects shots in the study center, sending a quick alert so that authorities respond more quickly in an emergency.
Much like a smoke detector, the SIREN is a 3-by-6-inch device that mounts to the ceiling, so it may not be noticeable to many. When gunshots are detected, a text message is sent to students and staff with the location, based on which sensor is triggered on campus.
“Our goal really was to do it in a way that wouldn't be noticeable and wouldn't interfere with the normal school day. Smoke detectors are everywhere, but no one really notices them, and they don't interfere with anything," Swarnya Srivastava, from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, told KTVU FOX 2.
Rebecca, Audrey, Swarnya and Caitlin, the young students who created SIREN, saw the need to create this device after last year it took police about 4 hours to reach Uvalde Elementary School in Texas where 21 people lost their lives. .
“We have all experienced school shooting scares in our high schools. So it was a no-brainer to address an issue like this," said Caitlin Ngyuen of Santa Clara High School.
Although they are from different schools in the Bay Area, the four students met at local tech competitions where they began envisioning the project.
“This outer shell is 3D printed. You have a microphone here that captures the surrounding audio to determine if there was a shot or not. The data from the microphone goes into our motherboard here, where it processes the data to determine if there has been a shot," Nguyen told the outlet.
According to the K-12 Shooting Database, only in 2023 there have been 123 shootings in schools where there were 135 victims.
The student team said they spent around $90 creating the prototype, however, they said they are seeking funding to help complete their gunshot detector prototype, as well as support from machine learning mentors who can help them refine the model. device.
“There were teachers, mentors, judges and many people. They really supported our solution and they really want SIREN to become a real thing," Audrey Wang of Mission San José High School explained in an interview with the outlet.
With information from KTVU FOX 2.
You may be interested in: Journalists put their lives at risk due to persecution in Guatemala ahead of elections
