MORE: Ross High School inventors draw national attention
They have already won $50,000 worth of tech for their Butler County high school by finishing first in Ohio in the “Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Pitch Event.”
“We had a great trip to (Washington) D.C. last week at the Pitch Event to vie for Top 3 in the country. Unfortunately, we did not place in the top three. We did, however, end up winning $50,000 in Samsung technology,” said Tom O’Neill, instructor of the Butler Tech Ross High School IT Program and team advisor.
“All in all, this was a great learning experience for my students,” said O’Neill.
The students designed a school safety system to provide early warning for a range of emergencies to first responders and school administrators — including gunshot location detection.
It interfaces with gunfire detection software to pinpoint the location of an incident on a school map and send alerts to first responders and school officials. It can also interface with metal detectors to provide alerts when sensors are activated.
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The security phone app is a faster, more modern safety option than current security alert systems used by many schools when it comes to violent threats or dangerous weather situations, O’Neill said.
The team, he said, is still in the running for another national competition later this month.
The students are now continuing work on their School Safety System and are preparing to compete in the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) USA event that takes place in Las Vegas May 26-28.
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