Schools are increasingly turning to technology to protect students and faculty—with video surveillance rated as a high priority among educational experts.

Modern school security goes beyond just video; for instance, many schools are incorporating environmental sensors like the Rhombus E2 to detect vape and smoke on campus. 

The Rhombus A100 Audio Gateway is part of this modern wave of education technology. With it, schools gain deeper visibility into their campuses through powerful new tech: intelligent audio analytics.

 Here are three ways that schools can improve their emergency response and overall campus safety with the A100.

1. Detect and respond to potential emergencies more quickly

When it comes to school safety, seconds matter. The A100 allows schools to identify potential threats by detecting specific sounds that may indicate a dangerous situation.

Automatically detect abnormal sounds on campus and in classrooms

Schools can use the A100 to identify abnormal audio events, including:

• Unusual audio levels
• Noise fluctuations
• Glass breaks

For example, the A100 can detect shouting if a fight or bullying breaks out on campus, or during a medical emergency.

Receive audio-based alerts of potential threats

Emergency alerts are a crucial part of a school's security strategy. In a dangerous situation, the more quickly emergency protocols are initiated, the better.

With the A100 Audio Gateway, schools can trigger emergency alerts and protocols the instant a threat is detected.

When the sensor identifies a potential threat, it immediately sends a live alert. Alerts are fully customizable—so you control who receives which notifications, such as safety officers, faculty, administrators, local authorities, and more. For example, if the A100 detects a potentially dangerous sound—such as glass breaking—it can instantly alert the authorities faster than a person manually calling 911.

By combining early threat detection with automatic alerts, schools can notify the correct people more quickly in an emergency. In the event of a serious threat, such as a school shooting, accelerated emergency response can be life-saving.

2. Broadcast live and prerecorded custom messages at scale

In addition to audio detection, the A100 provides remote two-way communication—like a modernized intercom. Schools can use the built-in speakers for simple back-and-forth communication, and can also use them proactively for security purposes.

Administrators and safety officers can prerecord messages and alarms for broadcast and set them to automatically trigger when threats are detected. This allows schools to quickly and automatically communicate at scale.

Because remote access is built in, these messages can be issued from anywhere; an officer or administrator does not need to be on campus to trigger an alarm or make a live announcement.

• Deter trespassers with custom alarms and prerecorded messages: Set automatic alarms or spoken messages that notify the trespasser or vandals that they have been recorded and the authorities are on their way.
• Communicate live during an emergency from anywhere: During many emergencies, it's crucial to be able communicate instructions or information to students and faculty at scale. Schools can make live announcements through the A100's built-in or external speakers—without needing to be on campus. For example, during an earthquake, teachers, administrators, or safety officers can broadcast real-time evacuation instructions from a safe location.

3. Resolve issues promptly via audio-video evidence

When it comes to school safety, prevention and fast detection of incidents are a high priority. However, if an incident does occur, it’s important to be able to investigate quickly and thoroughly.

The A100 gives schools an extra pair of ears on campus. It provides automatic, 24/7 audio monitoring that’s always listening for abnormal and potentially dangerous situations. Because it can be paired with any Rhombus smart camera, it also gives schools much deeper context and understanding when incidents do occur.

Gain context and understanding by capturing synchronized audio-video evidence

After an incident occurs, schools can use audio-video recordings to gain a much deeper understanding of what happened than what video alone can provide.

This can help schools more effectively:

• In the event of bullying, hold responsible parties accountable
• Clear up or confirm potentially false accusations with audio evidence
• Better understand what sort of prevention measures may be helpful in the future

Find important audio-video evidence quickly

When an incident occurs on campus, fast investigations are in everyone’s best interest—including students, parents, teachers, and law enforcement in certain scenarios. The A100 not only recognizes abnormal audio events, but also automatically marks them in the video timeline.

This gives schools an additional way to locate important audio-video evidence promptly. For example, if the only evidence of bullying or a fight is students shouting in a classroom, that type of activity may not be detected by video analytics alone—making it difficult to locate evidence of the conflict.

However, the A100 will automatically detect aggressive voices and mark them in the video timeline. This allows schools to quickly find audio-video evidence of the incident, and take appropriate action.

In more serious situations, finding footage faster also allows schools to share footage more promptly with law enforcement and aid ongoing police investigations in a timely manner.

Takeaways

A100 is a powerful new technology that gives schools a proactive way to detect and respond to potential threats on campus. To see firsthand if the A100 can help your school, request a free trial or contact sales@rhombus.com.