Once the system spots a gun in the vicinity, it uses the cloud to send that information to those that need it, whether that be a business owner or law enforcement. It can also stream footage of the event in question through an app, giving police a real-time look at what's going on and where. Users also have the option of connecting the camera to other third-party security systems, allowing it lock doors or stop elevators.

False positives can be a problem for computer vision systems, and that would be particularly troublesome for a security camera that has the ability to alert police directly. But the company claims its system's gun detection is 99 percent accurate. "We've basically perfected that," co-founder Lisa Falzone told Fortune, "and so we're already starting to work on fights, knives and other crimes. We expect fights to be done in the next couple months, at least the first version of it."

Back in 2015, a company called NanoWatt Design tried to crowdfund its GunDetect camera, which used computer vision to detect firearms and text alerts to its users. It now says its security systems can be customized to detect specific threats, including guns.

Athena offers multiple systems at a range of prices, but the one that includes gun detection, lock and elevator integration and real-time access costs $100 per camera per month.