Security threats in public venues such as schools, hospitals, and event spaces continue to evolve, requiring more advanced and reliable detection technologies. The urgency for improved concealed weapons detection systems (WDS) has never been greater, with mass casualty incidents on the rise. Security leaders must balance speed and accuracy, ensuring efficient screening without compromising detection effectiveness.
Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and holographic security, offer promising advancements. These tools have the potential to enhance detection accuracy, increase efficiency, and alleviate staff fatigue, which is a significant factor affecting security performance. Any new technology developments, at their core, must ensure organizations align with best practices in weapon detection, which themselves must align with guidelines from agencies like the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Because security staff fatigue can significantly impact detection effectiveness, with error rates in some cases rising up to 10% during prolonged shifts, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recommends personnel rotation during shifts to minimize fatigue-related errors.
Imagine operating a weapons detection system in a busy metro trauma center at 2 a.m. on a Saturday night. The volume of traffic, widely varying degrees of emergencies, and time of night could overwhelm the best trained security personnel. In short, maintaining security vigilance in a high pressure situation late at night can quickly devolve into a series of security breaches, putting the lives of patients and medical personnel at greater risk.
Enter AI-Enabled Weapon Detection
AI-driven weapon detection systems are transforming security operations by outperforming traditional metal detectors in accuracy and efficiency. These systems can:
- Analyze threats in real time, identifying concealed weapons without relying on invasive manual searches.
- Use machine learning algorithms to continuously improve, reducing false positives and increasing reliability.
- Identify suspicious behavior patterns, allowing security teams to assess threats proactively.
AI-enabled detection can flag potential threats instantly, helping security teams focus on real dangers rather than wasting time on false alarms. By integrating AI, organizations can enhance vigilance while reducing workload, ensuring security remains high in critical environments like schools, stadiums and hospitals.
Holographic Technology: A Groundbreaking Approach to On-Premise Security
Holographic technology is emerging as an innovative solution for on-site security, and a “force multiplier” for organizations dealing with staffing challenges and increased demand for security. These life-sized holograms serve as virtual security personnel, offering both deterrence and assistance. Key benefits include:
- High-visibility deterrence: Placed in strategic locations such as lobbies, hallways, and entrances, holographic security figures create a constant security presence where officers cannot always be stationed.
- Interactive engagement: Powered by generative AI, these holograms can communicate with visitors, answering common questions and directing foot traffic. Virtual officers such as these will come with a multi-lingual capability, allowing them to respond to a wide variety of languages with real-time translation.
- Improved resource allocation: By handling routine guest interactions, holograms allow security staff to focus on active threat monitoring and resolution. With fewer distractions for security staff, fewer errors leading to missed weapons entering a venue will be made.
- Better staff retention: Having holographic technology handle some of the more mundane, repetitive work will allow security officers to concentrate on the more important work of monitoring for concealed weapons and handling security threats. One of the key benefits is a reduction in staff burnout and staff retention, both of which are challenges for managers of venue security.
This technology is particularly useful in high-traffic areas where human security staff may be spread thin. Where holographic technology will prove especially useful from a compliance and cost management perspective is when states begin requiring the use of more weapons detection systems.
California passed Bill No. 2975, which requires all hospitals to deploy WDS for primary entrances by 2027. The rule applies to a hospital's main public entrance, ER entrances and even entrances for labor and delivery patients and visitors. In addition to investing in new WDS technology for multiple entrances, hospitals in California will be on the hook for hiring and retaining a staff of security officers, which could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually depending upon the size of the hospital.
By integrating holographic security, including the ability to utilize AI-driven responses and projections of a live security officer, facilities can scale and maintain a strong security presence without the burden of higher staff costs. It can also prevent putting undue fatigue on overworked officers, which could lead to a degradation of performance.
Combined Power of AI and Holographic Security
The integration of AI and holographic security creates a seamless, intelligent security network that maximizes coverage and efficiency for venues. Together, these technologies can:
Enhance visitor interactions by: Generative AI-powered holograms can process real-time speech and provide intelligent engagement, directing guests while screening for potential threats.
- Synchronize security alerts: AI-driven threat detection can sync with holograms to provide immediate security warnings, ensuring rapid response to threats.
- Maximize staff efficiency: Security teams can prioritize real threats, while AI-powered systems handle routine monitoring and interactions, even directing visitors to stop and re-enter an x-ray detection gate.
- Remote officer presence: Holographic technology will allow venue security teams to toggle between AI-powered images of officers and a live officer looking through a camera from a remote location. Remote officers can enter into live situations and provide high-level security observations and respond with commands and guidance on an as needed basis.
This synergy ensures comprehensive security oversight without requiring additional staff, making it a cost-effective and scalable solution for large facilities.
Looking Ahead
The future of weapon detection will include a more sophisticated technology stack. Integrating holographic technology with generative AI that learns from every visitor encounter will strengthen the security of venues ranging from schools and hospitals to sports venues and retail stores.
Only after careful evaluation of a given venue’s risk, and factoring in compliance with best practices issued by the DHS and DOJ, can organizations decide how to invest in the right technology to safeguard public spaces effectively. As the security landscape continues to evolve, the combination of AI and holographic security will almost certainly play a growing role in the next generation of weapons detection and threat prevention.
