Gun violence remains one of the most pressing threats to public safety across the country, and the ability to rapidly and accurately geolocate a shooting event can make the difference. At CGIT, that reality has fueled our innovation for the last seven years, beginning with a single microphone sensor and evolving into today’s advanced FireFLY LE III system.
Few moments shaped our development more than our 2019 deployment in Selma, Alabama. Tasked with supporting a mobile ATF NIBIN van mission, we deployed our FireFLY gunshot detection system to help gather ballistic evidence in a string of high gun violence activity. The mission highlighted FireFLY’s capabilities and, more importantly, exposed the areas where refinement was essential. That mission sparked the transformation of FireFLY from a single-sensor system into a powerful, multi-sensor array capable of delivering smarter, more accurate results.
Why Transition from a Single Microphone Sensor to a Multi-Microphone Sensor Array?
The original FireFLY system used a single microphone type sensor that relied on time-of-arrival (TOA) to detect gunshot sounds. While TOA remains a highly accurate method for geolocation, relying on a single point of detection came with limitations, especially when faced with environmental noise or complex firing scenarios. Through our work in Selma, Colorado Springs, and other subsequent field testing, we identified three major advantages of a sensor array configuration over a single-sensor setup:
1. Reduced Spurious Detects
Single microphone sensors can be triggered by wind gusts, traffic, or construction noise that can generate false positives and waste valuable law enforcement resources. Array configurations reduce these false detects by verifying signals across multiple microphones, only validating events that are time-coincident across the array.
2. Improved Time-of-Arrival Calculations
Accurate geolocation relies on precise timing. Single microphone sensors depend on the moment the detector trip which makes them vulnerable to timing issues. Arrays, however, define the TOA based on multiple data points, averaging them to determine the arrival time at the array’s centroid. This improves resilience against conflicting urban noises and timing anomalies.
3. Robust Fusion Association
When shots are fired in rapid succession, especially in dense urban areas, single microphone sensors struggle to distinguish one event from another. This can result in event association errors, where data from unrelated gunshots are grouped together and can lead to inaccurate geolocation.
Array configurations drastically improve data fusion. By combining TOA with direction-of-arrival (DOA), FireFLY LE III can distinguish between separate events more accurately, reduce false hypotheses, and pinpoint origin locations with far greater confidence.
Why It Matters: Accuracy and Accountability
The stakes are high not just for investigations, but for constitutional rights.
When single microphone sensor systems produce inaccurate geolocations, officers may be sent to the wrong location. If they encounter an individual and conduct a “Terry Frisk” based on that faulty data, it opens the door to serious legal consequences. A Terry Frisk is a limited pat-down of a person’s outer clothing conducted by law enforcement when they have reasonable suspicion that the individual may be armed and dangerous. It is intended solely to ensure the safety of the officer and others—not to search for evidence. If contraband is discovered during that search, the question arises: did the initial sensor error violate the individual’s Fourth Amendment rights?
These are not hypothetical concerns but growing points of potential contention in courtrooms. Defense counsel may challenge the legal standards of reasonable suspicion or probable cause when flawed gunshot detection data is used as the foundation for police engagement.
FireFLY was purposefully designed to give law enforcement complete control. When a FireFLY system is purchased by a police department, all data produced by the system belongs to the department. FireFLY’s advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning-based classification algorithm can pre-filter most nuisance detects, eliminating the need for a third-party, company-owned call center to filter through event data before pushing the data to the department. This model prevents conflict-of-interest associated with a third-party deciding on what information police departments have access to. With FireFLY, police are automatically notified when an event took place, are able to listen to the playback of the event and can confirm or reject the classification provided by the system without third-party involvement. This flow of information enables police departments to make informed, strategic decisions about when and how to respond to incidents, which helps minimize courtroom liability.
Because the FireFLY hardware is owned by the police, departments can relocate its self-calibrating sensors to areas with increased gunfire activity. This flexibility empowers agencies to make data-driven decisions, reduce legal risk, and strengthen public trust.
A New Era of Smarter Gunshot Detection
What began in Selma as a challenge became the catalyst for transformation. FireFLY’s evolution from a single microphone sensor to the LE III multi-microphone array system was not just a technological upgrade. It was a commitment to public trust, enhanced resources, and law enforcement accuracy. With improved event association and more precise geolocation, FireFLY ensures that officers are sent to the correct location to begin their investigations with confidence and clarity.
Our mission is to provide accurate, timely, and actionable data to public safety agencies. This information helps link crimes, firearms, and suspects, ultimately supporting efforts to reduce gun violence in at-risk and underserved communities.
The FireFLY difference goes beyond just hardware. Because innovation doesn’t stop at the first shot—it starts there. Learn more about how our team can help strengthen your community’s safety strategy with smarter, data-driven solutions at https://www.crimeguntech.com/contact/.