In Evolv’s Transformation of Security Screening Webinar, Anthony Rivera from Georgia Aquarium and Todd Fasulo of Wynn Las Vegas talked about building trust and loyalty with customers and staff. You’ll hear lessons learned from their reopenings.
WALTHAM, MA – July 9, 2020 – Evolv Technology, the pioneer in human security, today announced unprecedented demand for its touchless security screening system, Evolv Express®, as the global economy reemerges following shutdowns caused by the Coronavirus.
The company also unveiled the Thermal Imaging Package for Evolv Express. Available immediately, the new optional capability allows venues to screen each visitor or employee for elevated skin temperature followed by touchless weapons screening. This integrated health and weapons screening concept of operation (conop) is an industry first that optimizes use of facility space and resources.
COVID-19 has forever redefined security screening. Pre-pandemic procedures relied predominantly on metal detectors, hand wands and invasive bag inspections. This approach has quickly become obsolete. It is far too slow and overly reliant on manual effort, which results in unsafe crowding at entrances and risky physical contact. Adding a separate, standalone step for temperature screening slows the process even more. In short, a fundamentally new approach is required.
Evolv is leading the digital transformation to touchless security screening, one that addresses the ‘new normal’ threat of pandemic disease as well as concealed weapons. Using artificial intelligence software and powerful sensors, the company’s products facilitate social distancing while minimizing person-to-person interaction – requiring no stopping, no emptying of pockets or removing bags. People simply walk through naturally, alleviating long lines at entrances while greatly reducing interaction between visitors and security staff. To date, Evolv’s systems have been used to screen more than 50 million individuals in an expedient, respectful manner.
“I’ve had dozens of conversations recently with leaders responsible for security screening at many kinds of venues and facilities. All of these professionals agree on one thing – there’s no going back to the old invasive, analog approach,” said Evolv Technology Chief Executive Officer Peter George. “The future is touchless and digital. It’s a post-pandemic re-imagining of security screening that leverages modern technologies to deal with the realities of today’s threats and health and safety concerns, while being able to quickly address the threats of tomorrow. Evolv is proud to be leading the way by partnering with multiple major outdoor recreation venues as they reopen.”
As part of its phased reopening efforts now underway, Six Flags is using Evolv Express to screen park guests and employees upon their arrival to eliminate invasive bag checks and crowded entrance lines. This represents a cornerstone of the world’s largest theme park operator’s extensive new safety measures. With 26 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada and more than 50,000 employees, Six Flags has entertained millions of families with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling waterparks and unique attractions for 58 years.
Evolv Express can screen up to 3,600 people per hour – 10 times more than legacy approaches such as metal detectors. As a result, in addition to enhancing visitor experience, organizations can improve the performance of their security teams while reducing labor costs.
New Thermal Imaging Package for Evolv Express
With COVID-19 being the most pressing global safety concern, the Evolv Thermal Imaging Package for Evolv Express is now available to help organizations identify potential carriers of the virus. Optimizing use of space by being physically integrated with Evolv Express, the package comprises a thermal sensor and the Evolv TempCheck™ application. This adds the elevated skin temperature detection capability to Evolv’s Cortex AI™ software platform, which allows visitors to be screened for potential signs of health risk.
As the industry’s only integrated touchless health and weapons screening solution, individual visitors and employees are screened first for elevated skin temperature, followed immediately by weapons screening. Enhancing conop procedures, venue personnel can direct those with elevated readings to secondary screening. As a result, venues reduce the risk that their guards, visitors and employees are exposed to individuals presenting signs of virus infection. With this optional add-on package, venues can screen 800-1,300 people per dual-lane Evolv Express.
The Evolv Thermal Imaging Package for Evolv Express is manufactured in the U.S., complies with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and meets Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Additional information is available here.
About Evolv Technology
Evolv Technology is the leader in human security – providing touchless security screening that ensures safety without sacrificing the visitor experience. The company’s products spot concealed weapons and potential virus infection threats using advanced digital sensors and modern artificial intelligence that is incredibly accurate, discrete and delivers three to five times more throughput than older technologies. Evolv Express® has earned such industry accolades as the 2020 Edison Awards™ and Campus Security & Life Safety magazine’s Secure Campus 2020 Awards. A member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, Evolv’s customers include hundreds of top entertainment venues, stadiums, large-scale events, cultural landmarks, corporations, hospitals, schools and airports around the globe. Led by a team of security industry thought leaders with a track record for delivering first-to-market products, the company holds more than 100 patents. Evolv’s investors include Bill Gates, Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s firm, Finback Investment Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), General Catalyst Partners, Lux Capital and SineWave Ventures. For more information, visit https://evolvtech.wpengine.com.
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PR Contacts:
Evolv Technology
Julie Zomar
media@evolvtech.wpengine.com
(781) 374-8100
CHEN PR for Evolv
Jennifer Torode
jtorode@chenpr.com
(781) 672-3119
Let’s take a moment and ponder several numbers…. 15,300, 775 and 2,581,230.
Bold enough to imagine the next number in the sequence?
Careful – these are not prime numbers; not the number of stars in some distant galaxy; they have no higher order relation to each other, nor a discernable pattern. Given the lack of information, venturing a guess at a fourth number in the sequence is a fool’s errand.
In fact, what they do represent are the number of 2019 non-suicide gun-related deaths in the United States; the number of 2003 SARS global deaths, and the YTD number of COVID-19 cases in the United States. All unpredictable, crossing time/global /threat boundaries, and somewhat random. Even with the daily non-stop drum-beat coverage of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the “experts” are no closer to estimating what the final tally will be for 2020 US cases or the economic impact it will impart. (Data from July 2020)
The broader observation is that we live in a world of uncertainty with a variety of threat vectors. Some are known, while others are lurking behind a future unsuspecting corner.
The Coronavirus caught the world off-guard and it continues to affect every part of our lives. After months of the most substantially reduced business, education and social activities we’ve ever seen, we’re reemerging into a ‘new normal’, or quite possibly, the ‘now normal’.
Against this backdrop, safety is the top focus. For individuals and organizations alike, risk of exposure to the virus and defending against its spread are paramount. We’re all trying to come up with game plans and calling line of scrimmage audibles as we go. Recently, we hosted Evolv Advisor and Crisis Response Expert, Juliette Kayyem, in our “Adaptive Recovery” Webinar, where she provided guidance and insight as she walked through her Adaptive Recovery Framework to discuss reimagining recreation, education and the workplace.
Evolv has always been about keeping people safe as they live, work, learn and play. Our touchless security screening systems have redefined what’s required in modern physical security and have protected more than 50M people from guns, knives and bombs.
Today, COVID-19 is the biggest threat on virtually everyone’s mind. It “weaponizes” people. By doing so, it’s changing the very fabric of our society and challenging our social norms.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a surge of interest for thermal imaging as a front line of defense. Screening people for elevated temperature to identify potential carriers of the virus seems like one of several logical steps. There is a range of technologies and products available from multiple providers. In fact, I recently heard a reference to more than 150. Suffice to say, there is no shortage from which to pick.
Given the proliferation of options and “entrepreneurs”, it is critical to understand what thermal imaging can provide…and what it can’t. It can be a valuable component to a multi-layer security screening approach, but it’s not a silver bullet. Here are some insights to help your organization as you consider deploying thermal imaging.
Later this month, Evolv TempCheck™, part of our new optional thermal imaging package for Evolv Express®, will become generally available. You might ask “Why Evolv?”
This optional package represents another proof point for our ability to quickly and easily provide customers with new capabilities to address the threats we face today and to move quickly to address those we’ll face in the future. It creates an enduring product, one that is flexible enough to grow with you over time, instead of becoming obsolete, where you tuck it away in a corner or closet.
Here is a sneak peak of what you can expect…a physically integrated capability that’s a powerful add-on option to the Evolv Express touchless security screening system. One that’s mindfully integrated into the Evolv Express concept-of-operations (conop) to enhance the touchless visitor experience while optimizing venue footprint requirements and security staff resources.
Each visitor can be screened for elevated skin temperature in an average of 2-3 seconds, followed by immediate, frictionless, and touchless weapons screening. With this optional add-on package, venues are now provided an integrated health and weapons screening touchless conop, and the ability to screen 800-1300 people per hour per dual-lane Express, optimizing facility space and resources.
As noted earlier in this blog, the threat vectors are varied, complex and unpredictable. Evolv’s unique multi-sensor, software-centric platform allows us to add additional sensors and AI-driven applications to respond to this expanding threat landscape and assist our customers as their world and operational requirements change.
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In late May, Evolv hosted the “Adaptive Recovery” Webinar with Juliette Kayyem, former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. Juliette spoke about crisis management using her Adaptive Recovery Framework for managing an organization’s reopening and recovery across a variety of different sectors of the economy. At that time, planning was underway for schools to eventually reopen and for workplaces and recreation entities to reopen. This blog post has been excerpted from Juliette’s discussion on the webinar and expanded on.
Click here or on the image below to download the full webinar.
A month has now gone by, and while many organizations have put their plans into action, others continue to prepare for their reopening in the coming weeks and months. Many states have begun to lighten their restrictions, allowing restaurants, businesses and stores to reopen. And, even some theme parks and aquariums are opening their doors. Regardless of where you are on your reopening timeline, Juliette’s sage advice is worthy of embrace:
Here’s What We Learned for the Recreation Sector.
The bad news is while the virus is new, crisis management isn’t. The good news is we have expertise and experience in crisis management. This pandemic is nothing if not a crisis.
First things first …. don’t think about opening up as a moment in time or a threshold to cross; think of it as an organic process. Here’s why. In times of crises, like hurricanes or tornadoes, there is a moment of “boom” and the enemy is gone, response and recovery begin – a specific moment or crossing a threshold if you will. In this crisis, the enemy isn’t gone and in fact and unfortunately, will be around for a while – – this is a “rolling boom” hence the need to continually adapt.
Key Questions to Ask Yourself.
As security, operations and guest experience managers, the reality is we’ll have to continue to adapt to the virus in real-time and over time. That means planning, re-planning, embracing new governmental requirements, responding to new outbreaks and eventually, hopefully, administering a vaccine.
But the common thread through the multitude of plans is risk reduction, a balancing act based on three elements:
Where Does this Leave Us?
Two things we know for certain: social distancing and touchless security/venue features will allow you to come back more quickly and ensure patron safety.
Specifically, for entertainment and recreation entities, here are a number of areas you can focus on as you plan your reopening, or continue to adjust over time. We’ve outlined changes based on your customer’s journey, from the time the individual approaches your venue or facility until they are inside and enjoying themselves!
Communication & Planning Prior to Arrival
Planning their Visit
One of the best ways to provide peace of mind, entice visitors to your venue and ensure they are well informed is by providing clear communication to them in advance. Use your website, create a video, use social media accounts, e-newsletters and email reminders to communicate the importance you have put on the cleanliness of the venue and the care around staff interaction with guests, as well as the considerations you ask of your guests to adhere to guidelines for the safety of all. And, don’t forget your employees. Consider implementing an employee health survey they take before arrival to work.
Paperless Ticketing
Go Mobile. When possible, implement paperless ticketing utilizing an app or email to provide patrons/guests with a scannable QR code or barcode for entry. A significant reduction in the use of paper tickets will eliminate surfaces from which germs can be spread. Don’t forget, additional benefits to implementing paperless ticketing is guests will no longer forget their tickets at home or have to stand in will-call lines. And, there is less fear of stolen tickets.
Stagger Arrival Times
If possible, a great way to help avoid crowds in the parking lot, on the trams or buses to the park entrances and at the park or venue front gates is to stagger arrival times. Just like the airlines provide boarding zones, and golf courses are now staggering tee times, you could implement entrance times or zones in advance to help keep the flow moving at a steady pace instead of bottlenecking anywhere on premise.
Contactless Guest Screening at Arrival
Ensuring the safety and health of guests and staff has required a number of measures to be put in place. These include asking patrons and guests to assess the risk they have coronavirus and could infect others, screening for elevated body temperature, and screening to detect and prevent weapons from entering.
Temperature Screening
How might you institute temperature screening to mitigate risk of allowing someone with a high fever with potential contagions into your venue? Will you use handheld temperature reading devices or larger touchless ones? Who will be overseeing the thermal read-outs and making the judgement calls on whether the numbers are accurate? Do you need to hire dedicated medical staff to manage this function?
What will you do when someone is found with an elevated temperature? It will be extremely important to have a policy and procedure in place and have properly trained your staff on how to react. You’ll also want to consider including language in your Venue Guidelines document or website that addresses what happens if a person is found with an elevated temperature, especially as it pertains to refunds and what to do with the rest of their party.
Touchless Weapons Screening
Many of you already had weapons screening in place to safeguard your venue, but prior to COVID-19 did they create long lines and force contact between guards and fans or guests? We have now entered a new phase of venue security where both weapons and health screening is important, meaning the systems used “yesterday” such as traditional metal detectors, pat downs and manual bag checks will no longer be the systems capable of screening for threats of “today” or “tomorrow”.
Consider a touchless security screening solution that can screen people and their belongings in real-time as they walk through your doors without long lines, and without invasive search procedures. You should look to technology that will grow with you over time, adapting to new threats and allowing you to add-on additional features and sensors for cost savings and increased security in the future.
Spaced Seating
Being able to boast that you sold out every seat will be a thing of the past for a while. It’s time to get creative. What can you do to change your seating structure to reduce the intensity of interaction and limit number of interactions? Can you sell every other or every third ticket? Do you have sections for parties of 6 to make it easier for groups to stick together without having to readjust your entire new seating chart? There are plenty of diagrams you can consider and put in place depending on attendance levels and venue layout.
If you’re an outdoor venue with “lawn seating”, you might want to put up ropes or mark off seats with tape or chalk to help enforce distancing.
For theme parks and attractions, it will be easy to manage seating positions of park guests on rides by training staff to control the seating placement, and the IAAPA has identified some guidelines to help you think about capacities that allow for physical distancing.
Touchless Concessions
Across the country restaurants have had to reinvent themselves. In many states, eating in a restaurant is still prohibited, so restaurants have had to think outside the box on how to serve customers and keep revenue flowing. Some have opened up outdoor dining sections taking over parking lots, lawns, city streets and sidewalks, and many now offer take-out or delivery to ensure people can have their favorite gourmet food but eat in the comfort of their own home. For some restaurants, that means they are now accepting credit cards, PayPal or Venmo for the first time ever; some are offering a contactless self-ordering system and table service; others are having patrons scan a QR code for their food or drinks menu, make reservations or even connect to a restaurants payment tool. And, once self-serve, salad bars in restaurants and grocery stores are now open again with one distinct change, employees are now dishing out the patrons’ selections.
You can use some or all of these lessons learned from restaurants across the country to update your concession stands. Start with how to limit or erase lines. Do you allow certain sections to go to certain concession stands? Do you add more pop-up food stations to create more places to purchase food? Or better yet, do you launch/create an app for virtual queuing where the fan or guest selects the concession stand they’d like to purchase from and add themselves to that line, when it’s their turn, they are signaled to walk over to the concession? Or best of all, why not use an app in combination with waiters/waitresses; the fan or park guest downloads the app, orders their food and pays online, a waiter/waitress brings the food right to their seat.
Next, make sure you go touchless. Bring those condiment carts behind the counter and have your staff serve them. And, don’t forget about menus. If you usually hand out laminated menus reused with each guest, it’s time to throw them out unless you plan to sanitize them after every use. Although some venues have opted to print one-time-use paper menus, the cost to you and the environment will add up. Think about implementing an app or QR codes for ordering.
Hygiene Stations & Touchless Amenities
Keeping areas clean is paramount to stopping the spread of germs. Have you asked yourself how often railings, door handles, counters and bathrooms should be cleaned? Do you need to hire additional janitorial staff to ensure these areas are maintained? Do you have pop-up handwashing and/or hand-sanitizing stations throughout your venue or park? Do you remove all drinking fountains and install water bottle refill stations that are managed by staff and sanitized between each use?
What about your faucets, toilets and paper towel dispensers…are they automatic, or do they involve the turning of a handle? While some of these would be costly renovations after already losing revenue these last few months, you can choose a variety of ways to make your venue or facility cleaner and keep the presence and spread of germs to a bare minimum.
The Moral of this Story…
No matter how much you prepare in advance of reopening, one thing is for certain – you will need to watch, measure, evaluate and be ready to make adjustments as necessary.
Adhere to your local government guidelines and embrace the physical and technical adaptations you can make, to build confidence among your returning visitors, patrons and fans and ensure a safe and fun time for all.
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Luxury Air Service Ensures Member Safety with Exclusive Cutting-Edge Technology
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Set Jet, the membership-based private jet charter company headquartered in Scottsdale Arizona, with direct flights to many of the west coast’s top leisure destinations, has again, taken extraordinary steps to ensure the safety of its members. Set Jet announced today that it has added the Evolv Express® weapons-detection system at its private VIP Terminal and Member Lounge in Scottsdale.
As the exclusive representative in the private aviation sector for Evolv Technology, Set Jet will be introducing the technology to other fixed base operators (FBOs) in the United States as part of its efforts to implement the system throughout the entire private jet community.
“There is no higher priority for us than the safety and security of our members and we felt it was necessary to address the possibility of someone bringing a weapon or unauthorized device onto the aircraft,” said Set Jet CEO Tom Smith. “This is not something we had to do from a regulatory perspective. Charter Operators and FBOs are not required to do this type of security screening either, but it’s something that we are doing because it’s critical to ensuring our members’ safety.”
Last month, Set Jet announced it was the first aviation company in the world to test all its employees for coronavirus and provide free onsite COVID-19 antibody testing for its members prior to each flight. In typical fashion, Set Jet again has been extremely proactive by being the first to obtain and deploy the state-of-the-art Evolv weapons-detection technology in their industry.
“The Evolv system is not your typical metal detector that you commonly see in airports and at events, in fact it’s not a metal detector at all, it’s actually an intelligent, touchless security screening system,” added Smith. “By using a combination of AI and sensors, it can scan 3,600 people per hour and allows for multiple people to walk through it, along with their luggage and personal belongings including their keys and wallets simultaneously, without even requiring them to slow down. It’s an incredible system and we are proud to be Evolv’s launch partner for private aviation.”
“Set Jet is quickly establishing a strong reputation within the private aviation industry by providing its members with a ‘customer-first’ travel experience – especially notable in a market where security and convenience don’t typically go hand in hand,” said Evolv Technology’s Neil Sandhoff, VP North America. “We’re thrilled that Set Jet is using Evolv’s system to ensure the safety of its passengers while not intruding on their flight experience. It’s another demonstrable example of how the team there is setting the pace in what delivering best-class private flight service really means.”
Set Jet is constantly evaluating additional security related technology platforms to complement their current systems and protocols, particularly with respect to mobile devices for facilities they fly to and from which may not yet feature the Evolv system.
ABOUT SET JET: Privately held and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Set Jet is a membership-based private jet charter flight platform available exclusively for security pre-screened and approved members. Co-founded by Tom Smith, former Chairman and Co-Founder of TASER International, and a group of successful entrepreneurs, each with decades of diverse marketing and aviation experience, Set Jet was created to offer its members an unmatched experience in luxury air travel featuring private VIP jet charters to six of the most frequently traveled destinations on the West Coast. For more, visit www.setjet.com.
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PR Contacts:
Evolv Technology
Julie Zomar
media@evolvtechnology.com
(781) 374-8100
CHEN PR for Evolv
Jennifer Torode
jtorode@chenpr.com
(781) 672-3119
World’s Largest Regional Theme Park Company Using AI-based Evolv Express® to Enhance Social Distancing and Optimize Safety as Much-loved Entertainment Venues Reopen
WALTHAM, MA – June 3, 2020 – Evolv Technology, the human security pioneer, today announced that Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the world’s largest regional theme park company and the largest operator of waterparks in North America, is including Evolv’s AI-based, touchless threat detection system as a key part of the theme park operator’s extensive new safety measures for reopening its parks.
Evolv’s mission is to make the world a safer place to live, work, learn and play. With Bill Gates among its earliest investors, Evolv’s award-winning threat detection systems work at the pace of life to accommodate thousands of people per hour – screening 50 million individuals to date in an expedient, respectful manner while facilitating social distancing. With customers including some of the world’s most iconic brands, Evolv’s systems have prevented more than 5,000 weapons from entering a range of public and private facilities.
Six Flags operates 26 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The company employs more than 50,000 employees throughout North America and has entertained millions of families with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling waterparks, and unique attractions for 58 years.
Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will be the first Six Flags park to reopen. The park will operate from June 5-7 at reduced attendance levels in preview mode for Members and Season Pass Holders only. After a short initial reopening phase, Frontier City will gradually increase attendance levels throughout the month and expand to all guests. As part of the reopening process, Six Flags is implementing extensive new safety measures and hygiene protocols. These include several new advanced technology systems to protect park guests and employees.
Evolv Express® is featured among those new systems and will be used to screen all park guests and employees upon their arrival. Facilitating social distancing while reducing person-to-person interaction through its touchless screening, Evolv Express requires no stopping, no emptying of pockets or removing bags. People simply walk through naturally, alleviating congestion and long lines at the entrances.
Evolv’s Cortex AI™ software platform automatically detects threats and enables real-time image-aided alarms showing guards exactly where the potential threat is on a person or in his or her bag. Doing so greatly reduces the amount of physical contact required between guards/personnel, those being screened and their belongings. Especially important with the COVID-19 health threat, this allows venues to implement a “no-touch” policy, where guards direct people to open their own bags and remove certain items for closer inspection.
“Evolv understands how critical it is for people to feel safe as they go about their daily lives,” said Chief Executive Officer Peter George at Evolv Technology. “In the past, screening has been slow, intrusive, uncomfortable and, all too often, ineffective. It’s time for the days of long lines and archaic, high-touch bag checks to become things of the past. By pairing our vision for how threat detection really should work with our cutting-edge, advanced technology, we are thrilled to help Six Flags provide an even safer, more friendly screening experience for all their guests and employees.”
Notably, because Evolv Express can screen up to 3,600 people per hour – 10 times more than legacy approaches such as metal detectors – organizations can improve the performance of their security teams while reducing labor costs.
About Evolv Technology
Evolv Technology is the leader in human security. The company is dedicated to making the world safer to live, work, learn and play by helping to protect innocent people from mass shootings, terrorist attacks and similar violent acts. The company’s Evolv Express® has earned industry accolades that include the 2020 Edison Awards™ and Campus Security & Life Safety magazine’s Secure Campus 2020 Awards. A member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, Evolv’s customers include hundreds of top entertainment venues, stadiums, large-scale events, cultural landmarks, corporations, hospitals, schools and airports around the globe. Led by a team of security industry thought leaders with a track record for delivering first-to-market products, the company holds more than 100 patents. Evolv’s investors include Bill Gates, Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s firm, Finback Investment Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), General Catalyst Partners, Lux Capital and SineWave Ventures. For more information, visit evolvtechnology.com.
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PR Contacts:
Evolv Technology
Julie Zomar
media@evolvtechnology.com
(781) 374-8100
CHEN PR for Evolv
Jennifer Torode
jtorode@chenpr.com
(781) 672-3119
Imagine going through theme park security without having to open all your bags and allowing a security guard to look through your things, or not even having to put your bags into an x-ray machine. That may be the case soon at some Six Flags parks.
As attractions begin reopening after their coronavirus closures, theme parks are reevaluating the security screenings their guests go through in light of social distancing measures, and Anil Chitkara’s company, Evolv Technology, has introduced an innovative touch-free system Six Flags recently featured in a video highlighting their parks’ new safety procedures.
Ever since 9/11, theme parks have implemented various types of security screenings to ensure that guests don’t enter with weapons or other prohibited items. The Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts use a combination of manual bag inspections and walk-through metal detectors, while Universal resorts employ automated bag-screening machines and walk-through metal detectors. However, in announcing their reopening plans, Six Flags has released the following video depicting the use of the Evolv Express® security system in their parks, which permits guests and their belongings to be inspected while walking through without removing or opening their bags at all:
The new bag screening system depicted in Six Flags’ video comes from Evolv Technology, which was co-founded by Anil Chitkara. Six Flags will only confirm that the chain has ordered 37 Evolv Express units, but is not sharing publicly at this time at which parks (in addition to Frontier City) they’ll be used at, or how many units per park. Chitkara himself was unable to confirm or provide any specific details about his company’s involvement with Six Flags (a standard contractual limitation in the security industry). However, he did provide us this exclusive interview about how his team is helping to keep guests both safe and happy in the age of COVID-19. (Note: this interview has been edited for space and clarity.)
How did Evolv Technologies get started?
We started the company about seven years ago, myself and my co-founder, named Mike Ellenbogen. Mike has been in the physical security industry for 20 years after Pan Am 103 … My background is more sort of business and technology. And we’d known each other for 15 years at that point.
Anil Chitkara, founder of Evolv Technology
I had sold the company I was at, Mike sold the company that he was at, and we were trying to figure out what to do next. There were two pieces of motivation: the Boston Marathon bombing, and 9/11. In the case of 9/11, my college roommate and good friend was in the north tower; had just gotten married, had a kid and unfortunately, he was part of Cantor Fitzgerald [headquarters], which was tragic.
In the case of the marathon, my wife is a marathoner. She had run that marathon. I had my three young kids at the finish line. She finished about 45 minutes before the first bomb went off, got in the car and came home … and then all of the news happened. A good friend of ours was there, actually, he got hit with the second bomb and has fragmentation.
It really caused me to think about, what do I want to do next? And how do I want to spend the next 10 to 20 years? I had done a lot with technology to solve business problems. Mike had done a lot to bring innovative technology to physical security. And we went out and talked to lots of people about how they were trying to keep their venue safe.
I thought about my kids. I don’t want them to have to live a life where it is airport-style screening everywhere they go. I want them to be able to live as freely as possible, but also as safely as possible. And that was my personal motivation around starting a company.
Where is your technology currently in use?
At the end of 2017, we started deploying technology, so it’s been deployed and screening people since the end of 2017. We’ve screened well over 50 million people since it’s been deployed; it’s probably closer to 60 million people now. And our customers have used the technology to find thousands of weapons. The types of places where it’s deployed are largely commercial venues, so those have been performing arts centers, sporting stadiums, museums, and tourist locations. They’ve largely been places where they hadn’t used walk-through metal detectors up to that point; they’d been trying them, but they just weren’t doing the trick. They basically were too invasive relative to the visitors that were coming in.
About a year ago, we launched the second product, which is the Evolv Express product [which is what is featured in Six Flags’ video]. We’ve screened millions of people with that product. There were two very large events we did last fall screening with Express. One of them was a week long conference in San Francisco where we screened about 500,000 people, and then there was a second conference we did a month later where we screened about 400,000 people. So there’s been some very large-scale, high volume deployments that have been used the system. There are other applications where people are screening it using it for visitors on a daily basis.
We haven’t yet used it in a theme park environment. We’ve used it in large-scale events, and we’ve used them in some sporting events in some performing arts and entertainment events. But not a theme park event up to now.
What’s the hourly guest capacity and staffing requirement of the Evolv Express?
One unit of Express has two lanes. Each of those lanes could do 1,800 guests an hour, or 3,600 for that combined system. That compares to a walk through metal detector where they’re doing “take things out, check the body, check the bags,” those tend to be about 250 to 300, maybe 350 people per hour. So this is about 10 times the speed of a traditional approach.
If we look at the walk-through metal detector, let’s say you need 10 units. They tend to have two and a half people per unit; they have a front and a back and a supervisor. For us, you tend to have between four and six people per unit, so the staffing is significantly reduced.
The turnover in the security guard industry in the U.S. is 300% or three times a year, the entire industry. Therefore, training and getting skilled guards is a challenge, so we have automated some of the key tasks [and] provided a level of automation that assists the guard, so that they can be very targeted in their search.
What are the advantages to Evolv Express over traditional bag screening methods in a COVID-19 reopening environment?
Ninety days ago, we used to talk about 3,600 people an hour coming through; today, we talk about a touchless contact screening process. If I’m going through those 42-inch-wide lanes, without taking anything off and going right through and the alarm rate is extremely low, then I keep going; thousands of people are going through never being touched by a security guard. One benefit is the proximity of guard-to-visitor is lower, because they walk right through. A second benefit is the speed enables people to go through quickly without lines building up, so are eliminating visitor-to-visitor proximity as you’re waiting in line to go through security. And then anybody that’s looking at bags manually is touching every bag; people are trying to figure out how can I have less touch, but fundamentally, you’ve got to look in the bag when you’re doing a manual process.
How does Evolv Express improve the overall guest experience?
There’s so much work and effort that’s put in around the visitor experience, but then the security experience just grinds things to a halt. There is excitement, you get there, you want to get in, you want to participate or listen or enjoy the entertainment, and then grinding to a halt because I’ve got to stop, I’ve got to put my bag down, I’ve got to take everything out of my pockets. That’s we’re trying to fundamentally change: that visitor experience. That’s essentially one of the key principles of the technology we’ve developed.
Have there been studies demonstrating your technology’s detection rate compared to the more traditional methods?
We’ve done a number of studies with both government and commercial organizations, and a number of large organizations will do the testing themselves. They’ll do lab-based testing: we’ll take a system and run a bunch of threats through and a bunch of nuisance alarm items that they’ll read. And they’ll actually put threats on individuals and have them go through the system in operation. We’ve done that extensively; we can’t share specific customers or specific examples of what’s been done, but that’s been done a number of times in the U.S. and Europe. And what they had found is that the detection rate is a combination of the technology, plus the people operating it, plus the processing protocols … The breakdown oftentimes comes in the guards or the protocols relative to that overall system, so what’s been told to us is the effectiveness of the overall system has been much higher with our technology as part of an overall system than with the traditional technology.
How is the Evolv Express system priced?
We don’t publicly share actual pricing levels. We have a subscription model … a per month fee, not “buy it and you own it forever.” We include improvements, upgrades, service, and everything all combined into that one monthly price. So the pricing model is something we believe is pretty unique in the industry.
What is your current outlook as attractions reopen after the pandemic quarantine?
Everybody sort of hunkered down when COVID hit right. There was a lot of “how am I going to respond to this?” Over the last four weeks, we’ve had a significant amount of inquiries from organizations as they plan their reopening. And many of these organizations have used the “mag and bag,” (the walk through a metal detector and bag) approach in the past and they just don’t believe that’s the right way to go to do it going forward. What’s changed is they’re trying to balance the public health threat and the public safety threat, and do something that considers both of those.
It’s going to be different going forward. It needs to be lower touch, it needs to be cognizant of the public health risks, as well as the public safety risks. And so they’re looking to our technology to be able to help them enable that.
For more information on Evolv, visit evolvtechnology.com.
WALTHAM, MA – May 15, 2020 – Evolv Technology, the human security pioneer providing touchless, free-flow threat detection and weapons screening systems worldwide, will host Juliette Kayyem for a webinar during which the internationally-recognized security, policy and resiliency planning thought leader will outline what she sees ahead as organizations cope with the Coronavirus pandemic and its aftershocks.
Evolv Co-founder Anil Chitkara will moderate the interactive discussion – COVID-19 Recovery: Reimagining Education, Commerce and Entertainment – set for May 20, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. To register, visit here.
A member of Evolv’s Board of Advisors and on-air national security analyst for CNN, Kayyem has spent more than 15 years advising governors, mayors, CEOs and other leaders while spearheading complex policy initiatives and organizing government responses to major crises at the state and federal levels. At the forefront of the U.S. response to the H1N1 virus while serving as President Obama’s Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, she was Homeland Security Advisor to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick at the time of the Boston Marathon bombing. Kayyem is a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she is Faculty Chair of the Homeland Security, and Security and Global Health Projects. Recently named to Boston Magazine’s The 100 Most Influential People in Boston Right Now, she is the founder of Kayyem Solutions, a firm that provides strategic advice in cybersecurity, resiliency planning, risk management, mega-event security and infrastructure protection.
During the webinar, Kayyem will discuss her ‘adaptive recovery framework’ – sharing insights into how the resumption of business and social activities in the time of COVID-19 is likely to unfold. Highlighting phases of recovery and key signals that indicate movement through those stages, she will address how adaptive recovery may differ across various sectors including:
Public venues such as stadiums, entertainment venues, amusement parks, restaurants and tourist locations
Community institutions including hospitals and houses of worship
Schools ranging from K-12 to colleges and universities
Workplaces such as office buildings, manufacturing/distribution locations, supermarkets and retail stores
Featuring a ‘deep dive’ into physical security considerations, there will also be an opportunity for questions and answers.
Evolv’s mission is to help keep people safe. With Bill Gates among its earliest investors, Evolv’s AI-based threat detection systems work at the pace of life to screen thousands of individuals and groups per hour – screening 50 million people to date in a rapid, touchless manner while facilitating social distancing. With customers around the world, Evolv’s systems have prevented more than 5,000 weapons from entering a range of public and private facilities. Now more than ever, AI-driven technology will continue to allow us to be responsive to an ever “evolving” threat landscape.
About Evolv Technology
Evolv Technology is the leader in human security. The company is dedicated to making the world safer to live, work, learn and play by helping to protect innocent people from mass shootings, terrorist attacks and similar violent acts. The company’s Evolv Express® has earned industry accolades that include the 2020 Edison Awards™ and Campus Security & Life Safety magazine’s Secure Campus 2020 Awards. Evolv’s customers include hundreds of top corporations, hospitals, entertainment venues, schools, international airports, stadiums, large-scale events and cultural landmarks around the globe. Led by a team of security industry thought leaders with a track record for delivering first-to-market products, the company holds more than 100 patents. Evolv’s investors include Bill Gates, Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s firm, Finback Investment Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), General Catalyst Partners, Lux Capital and SineWave Ventures. For more information, visit https://evolvtechnology.com/.
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PR Contacts:
Evolv Technology
Julie Zomar
media@evolvtechnology.com
(781) 374-8100
CHEN PR for Evolv
Jennifer Torode
jtorode@chenpr.com
(781) 672-3119
Reopening any organization during a pandemic is complicated. Doing this task at an aquarium and a hotel is even more complex because of the logistics behind the job. Both facilities attract large crowds, and they must take special care to make sure customers stay safe.
Webinar host Neil Sandhoff, VP of North America, Evolv Technology, and moderator, Anil Chitkara, Co-founder, Evolv Technology, talked with Anthony Rivera, Vice President of Guest Experience and Hospitality, Georgia Aquarium and Todd Fasulo, Vice President of Security, Corporate Investigations, and Crisis Management at Wynn Resorts.
The group talked about the specific demands and challenges of reopening during this time. Rivera spoke about the innovation at the Georgia Aquarium, which has helped set the venue up for success during this critical period where visitor expectations are higher than ever.
They had to use innovative thinking to take care of their exhibits, and one of the most important aspects that customers might not think about is the water, itself. The aquarium holds 10 million gallons of water. During the pandemic and the reopening, they’ve had to figure out how to take care of it.
“It is a fun fact to say that the water we started with 15 years ago still exists today in the aquarium,” Rivera said. “95% of that water is still in circulation in our aquarium.”
At Wynn Resorts, where guests gather overnight, keeping guests safe during a pandemic presents a significant security challenge.
They wanted to make sure they created a safe environment for employees and guests, according to Fasulo. When it came to COVID-19 and figuring out how to operate the business during a constantly changing environment, it proved crucial to have outstanding leadership.
“It has to start at the very top of your organization,” Fasulo said. “The mantra that your CEO, your GM or your top echelon operations take is crucial to playing out the environment that everyone feels comfortable.”
During this period (and into the future, as consumer attitudes have changed for good), it’s critical to balance security with a hassle-free experience. Guests want to feel safe, but they also want touchless, frictionless solutions that don’t feel overbearing.
Venues also need to think about specific challenges related to COVID-19, such as temperature screening and social distancing.
Balancing all of this is possible, but it will require next-gen physical security solutions. In other words, the days of the metal detector are over.
Reopening any organization during a pandemic is complicated. Doing this task at an aquarium and a hotel is even more complex because of the logistics behind the job. Both facilities attract large crowds, and they must take special care to make sure customers stay safe.
WALTHAM, MA – May 6, 2020 – Evolv Technology, the leader in touchless, free-flow weapons detection, was named to Inc. Magazine’s prestigious 2020 Best Workplaces List.
In its annual ranking of workplaces in the fast-growing private company sector, Inc. Magazine recognizes successful businesses that value company culture, offer standout worker benefits, and prioritize employee well-being.
Evolv’s mission is to make the world a safer place to live, work, learn and play by helping protect innocent people from mass shootings, terrorist attacks and similar violent acts. The company’s growth is attributed to its dedicated and talented pool of employees, bolstered by support from its investors, advisors, customers and partners.
“Our employees are at the heart of Evolv’s innovation and momentum,” said Peter George, CEO at Evolv. “The secret to any company’s success is happy, motivated and inspired employees. What inspires our hearts and underpins everything we do is our mission to keep people safe. It’s that commitment to our mission that has earned us this honor and we are thrilled to be named to Inc. Magazine’s 2020 Best Workplaces List.”
Evolv’s AI-based, free-flow weapons-screening and threat detection systems work at the pace of life to help protect thousands of individuals and groups per hour. Corporations, government agencies, international airports, hospitals, houses of worship, schools, sports stadiums, national landmarks and concert halls using Evolv’s award-winning products have screened more than 50 million people in a rapid, undisruptive, touchless manner while preventing more than 5,000 weapons from entering a range of public and private facilities.
“Building a great corporate culture comes only from strong leadership,” said Inc. Magazine Editor-in-Chief Scott Omelianuk. “The companies on Inc.’s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from, especially now, when company culture is more important to the workforce than ever.”
Evolv Technology is the leader in human security. The company is dedicated to making the world a safer place by helping to protect innocent people from mass shootings, terrorist attacks and similar violent acts. The company’s Evolv Express® has earned industry accolades that include the 2020 Edison Awards™ and Campus Security & Life Safety magazine’s Secure Campus 2020 Awards. Evolv’s customers include Gillette Stadium, L.L. Bean, Oakland International Airport, Spartanburg School District Six in South Carolina and many others across the globe. Led by a team of security industry thought leaders with a track record for delivering first-to-market products, the company holds more than 100 patents. Evolv’s investors include Bill Gates, Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s firm, Finback Investment Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), General Catalyst Partners, Lux Capital and SineWave Ventures. For more information, visit https://evolvtechnology.com/.
About Inc. Media
The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
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PR Contacts:
Evolv Technology
Julie Zomar
media@evolvtechnology.com
(781) 374-8100
CHEN PR for Evolv
Jennifer Torode
jtorode@chenpr.com
(781) 672-3119
