Company Further Advances Gunshot Detection Technology, Strengthens ShotSpotter Intellectual Property Patent Portfolio
NEWARK, Calif. – May 13, 2015 — SST, Inc., the leader in gunshot detection and location technology, announced its 33rd patent. Patent No. US 8,995,227 is entitled “Systems and Methods of Processing Information Regarding Weapon Fire Location Using Projectile Shockwave and Muzzle Blast Times of Arrival Data.” The invention combines bullet shockwave data, when detected, to the time of arrival of the muzzle blast to solve for the shooter’s location. The technology is particularly useful in outdoor deployments, especially when the customer wants to know if a shooter is firing into the array, as is the case with utility substations and transportation hubs. Issued by the U.S. Patent office on March 31, 2015, this patent applies to SST’s gunfire detection, location, alerting and analysis technology – known as ShotSpotter™ and trusted by law enforcement agencies across the globe.
SST Inc. holds the deepest gunfire patent portfolio in the industry, the result of almost two decades of innovation in acoustic gunshot location technology. The SST Inc. solutions are protected by the patents listed here and other domestic and foreign patents pending. This patent was awarded to inventor Murphey L. Johnson and is held by SST Inc.
This new patent is most immediately useful in outdoor scenarios, including some ShotSpotter SiteSecure™ deployments, where its method can be used to improve and optimize location accuracy for smaller outdoor sensor arrays. Announced in September 2014, ShotSpotter SiteSecure, leverages the company’s gunshot detection technology to provide 24×7 monitoring for utilities substations and buildings of all kinds — offices, shopping malls, railway stations, hospitals, etc.
In December, Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association (SVIPLA) awarded Dr. Robert (Bob) Showen the “Inventor of the Year,” award for his invention of SST Inc., ShotSpotter’ s gunshot detection location technology. Dr. Showen is a pioneer in the field of urban gunshot location systems. With more than three decades of acoustic and geophysics research experience, Dr. Showen’s vision to help police curb illegal gunfire in communities was the motivation for inventing ShotSpotter. He has been issued nine patents for SST’s innovative ShotSpotter technology.
“Our new patent reinforces our commitment to the ongoing advancement of gunshot location and analysis solutions, and underscores our leadership role in this technology,” said Paul Ames, Senior Vice President of Products and Technology at SST. “We’re proud of our extensive intellectual property portfolio. As more and more cities and law enforcement agencies realize that they are vulnerable to active shooter attacks, we’ll continue to leverage our technological advancements to deliver solutions to mitigate damage and save lives in those very regrettable scenarios.”
The widespread deployment of ShotSpotter enables SST to aggregate gunfire data and publish the only authoritative analysis of gunfire data in the world. SST’s 2014 National Index of Gunshot Statistics was based on SST collected and analyzed gunfire data from a statistical sample of 47 American cities. The year over year comparisons were based on 28 cities that used ShotSpotter Flex for both 2013 and 2014; showing a median decrease of gunfire in the ShotSpotter coverage area of 28.8%, year over year. An eBook with other top findings can be read and downloaded here: https://www.ShotSpotter.com/2015NGI .
About SST, Inc.
SST, Inc. is the global leader in gunfire detection and location technology providing the most trusted, scalable and reliable gunfire alert and analysis solutions available today. SST’s ShotSpotter Flex℠ is the leading gunfire alert and analysis solution for detecting gunshots and providing critical intelligence to give law enforcement agencies the detailed real-time data needed to investigate, analyze and prosecute gun related crimes. The company’s deep domain experience, along with cumulative agency best practice experience, enables measurable outcomes that contribute to reducing gun violence. SST is a proven solution provider with more than 90 installations across the United States and the world. Privately held, the company holds numerous patents resulting from nearly two decades of innovation in the area of acoustic gunshot location technology. Detail can be found at www.ShotSpotter.com/ Details about our US and foreign patents can be found at https://www.soundthinking.com/patents.
# # #
Media Contact: Liz Einbinder +1 (415) 577-8255 Email: leinbinder@ShotSpotter.com