It's a sad fact that school shootings are becoming a semi-regular occurrence in the US. While there are varying opinions on what to do about the problem, Intrusion Technologies' Active Intruder Mitigation System (AIMS) is designed to minimize casualties when a shooter does enter a school.
Now in its fifth generation, AIMS in installed in a school or workplace, either as a stand-alone setup with its own cameras, or working in conjunction with an existing video security system.
There are different ways of triggering it. First of all, on-site users can press a button on one of several emergency activation stations, at the first sign of trouble. Alternatively, personnel at an on- or off-site command center, viewing feeds from the school's security cameras, can set it off as needed. Or, the system can be set to activate itself automatically, upon detecting the sound of gunshots.
Once AIMS is triggered, several things happen. On appropriately-outfitted rooms, the doors will automatically close and magnetically lock, turning those areas into "safe rooms." An audio system then provides verbal instructions to the occupants. And while first responders are able to manually override the lock on the door, other people can't do so from the outside.
Additionally, a siren and flashing LED light trees let people throughout the building know to get out. The system also automatically notifies police and provides them with a live video feed, plus it sends out notifications to parents, etc. by text and/or email.
Finally, if the high-end Elite version of AIMS is being used, police or security personnel can get it to disperse a non-irritating fog in common areas, disorienting the attacker.
The system is demonstrated in the video below.
Source: Intrusion Technologies
