Once the handgun appears on screen, an alert is sent, forming a red box on screen highlighting where the image of the gun appears. Image credit: Unversity of GranadaHoping to provide an extra layer of security at heavily populated public places such as airports and malls, scientists from the University of Granada have developed a computer system using artificial intelligence to detect when a gun appears on screen.

Analyzing YouTube videos and movies with violent content (like Pulp Fiction), researchers determined that the algorithm was able to identify instances where a handgun appears on screen with an almost 97 percent accuracy. Once the handgun appears, an alert is sent, forming a red box highlighting the image of the gun on the screen.

The purpose of the system, according to scientists, is to improve upon and to work in concert with current methods of detection, such as metal detectors.

Although effective at detecting concealed firearms, metal detectors need uninterrupted human operation, and they can generate bottlenecks. Additionally, metal detectors also detect common objects such as mobile phones and coins but cannot detect weapons made out of materials other than metal (due to advances in 3-D printing).

The new computer system could also be applied to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, giving administrators the opportunity to control the occurrence of violent content on those sites.