Can your smartphone detect gunfire? Chicago startup puts new technology to the test
A Chicago-based startup is testing a new approach to gunshot detection technology that transforms smartphones into acoustic sensors, potentially saving lives.
The testing comes almost two years after the city ended its contract with SoundThinking.
SplitSec, which was founded in Chicago in 2025, has developed an app that is capable of detecting gunshots using the microphones that are already built into Android phones.
The technology has the potential to eliminate the need to install fixed sensors, such as the ones used by SoundThinking.
"As I observed events around us, one of the things that was striking is any time there is a gunfire incident, people are unaware, and they stand there for several minutes not knowing what happened.
And so the idea was how can we make people aware sooner?" SplitSec founder and CEO Sri Deivasigamani told Fox News Digital.
RACISM FEARS SPARK CITY TO NIX GUNSHOT DETECTION TECH DAYS AFTER CRAZED GUNMAN OPENED FIRE IN STREETS "We centered our thinking on how can we bring in personal safety for people, and how can you make them be aware and share that awareness.
And we're using technology to help us achieve that, something that we all carry in our own back pockets every day: smartphones," Deivasigamani added.
The two no-cost trials are taking place in Chicago's 21st and 42nd wards, according to Block Club Chicago , which reported that there are discussions about expanding testing to the 5th, 29th and 38th wards.
Deivasigamani told Fox News Digital that app users participating in the trials have given SplitSec useful feedback.
He said that on some phones the company noticed a high degree of false positives due to sensitive microphones.
Another issue that users noted was battery drainage, something SplitSec's engineers are working on, according to the founder and CEO.
"For some users, on July 27 and 28, the app actually detected gunshots and the user confirmed that they heard gunshots.
So, it was an important moment for us," he said.
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