VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – As students in Volusia County prepare to return to class, a new layer of security is being added to help keep them safe: artificial intelligence that detects guns on campus.

Volusia County is the latest school district in Central Florida to implement ZeroEyes, a high-tech system that leverages the existing security camera infrastructure to automatically identify possible firearms. The system then alerts law enforcement for immediate response.

“Sometimes it takes a person to hear a gunshot or somebody sees something. This cuts all that out,” Capt. Todd Smith with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said. “If it happens on the camera system, it alerts us immediately.”

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ZeroEyes uses artificial intelligence to scan live video feeds for objects that resemble firearms. When a potential gun is detected, images are sent to ZeroEyes headquarters in Philadelphia. There, former military and law enforcement officers verify whether the object is indeed a weapon.

“That image of the shooter is going to allow first responders to know where to go, who they’re looking for and exactly when that person was at that exact location,” ZeroEyes co-founder Sam Alaimo said. “Within three to five seconds, law enforcement can get that alert, get to the location of that shooter and potentially stop that shooter from squeezing the trigger.”

Seminole County Public Schools began using ZeroEyes about four years ago at Oviedo High School and have since expanded it to other campuses.

Daytona Beach police started monitoring existing city cameras with ZeroEyes earlier this year.

[WATCH BELOW: Oviedo High School tests gun-detection tech]

“This is cutting edge technology,” Smith said. “We’re always keeping our foot on the gas trying to make sure that our kids are safe and we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe.”

The annual cost for Volusia County Schools to use ZeroEyes is roughly $50,000. The company behind the technology reports that it has identified thousands of real and fake guns brought into schools and other locations nationwide.

With ZeroEyes, the hope is to shorten response times and enhance the safety of students and staff by leveraging innovative artificial intelligence technology to detect and help prevent potential threats on school campuses.