The Los Angeles City Council approved a 30-year contract worth $4.9 billion with LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Automated People Mover (APM) train system at the airport. Bombardier Transportation will provide the APM Operating System, including overseeing the design and installation of the Guardian System. According to public statements from Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), APM trains will arrive every two minutes, with convenience and accessibility being key to its service. Station platforms are set to have escalators, elevators and moving walkways to provide fast and convenient access to airport terminals. It is estimated that the APM will cater to a maximum ridership capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour and up to 87.7 million passengers yearly.

 

After a thorough market survey, Bombardier chose SDS for its active shooter solution. “The Guardian system continues to be the gunshot detection system of choice for major airports and transportation authorities across the U.S.,” said Christian Connors, CEO of Shooter Detection Systems. “This is due in large part to our success with existing airport installations and our zero false alert history, but we also credit the rigorous testing and independent third-party certifications that qualify Guardian as a true life safety solution.”

 

With the rise of both shooting incidents and false gunshot reports that have caused distress to passengers and halted airport operations, the transportation industry continues to select Guardian for its proven ability to instantly detect gunshots and filter out false alerts in the airport environment. The airport community is rapidly adopting the Guardian solution, with the most recent customers including Charleston International Airport (CHS) in North Carolina and the upcoming installation at Abilene Regional Airport (ABI) in Texas, who join SDS’ community of existing and future Category X airport customers across the United States.

 

Built from sniper detection technology used by the U.S. military in conflicts around the globe, Guardian combines proprietary acoustic gunshot detection algorithms and infrared sensors to detect gunshots in the indoor environment. Unique to the Guardian System, this dual-mode technology has been certified to detect 100% of gunshots and produces zero false alerts, as per extensive performance testing conducted by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure in the United Kingdom. Guardian is also SAFETY Act Certified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, placing it on the list of Approved Products for Homeland Security as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT), and the Australian Government’s Security Construction and Equipment Committee has certified Guardian at the highest level of protection against high risk attacks, known as Security Level 4 (SL4).