The Safe-Marx project is an innovative design used to promote school safety against active shooters. Safe-Marx is a box shaped product that sits in the corner of a classroom and is used to point the students and faculty to safety in the event of a school shooting. The laser pointer implemented in the Safe-Marx design directs a visual light towards the side of the room where individuals can safely move to and stay in until the shooting is over.

Safe-Marx is revolutionary technology designed to help keep children secure and protected, according to Omer Barnes, one of the founders of Safe-Marx. In the beginning, the creators of Safe-Marx were originally aiming to develop a way for children to be able to have enough time to run and hide for safety in the event of an active shooting. The question at hand is, how will they know if they are safe where they are hiding, and a shooter will not be able to harm them. As follows, the introduction to a laser pointer system. The laser pointer composition was constructed for easy detection of a ‘safe space’ to hide from an active shooter. The space deemed the safe zone is clearly shown by a laser line appearing in the classroom or area of the school building.   

Safe-Marx started out as big as the average tablet. After several redesigns and further development, it was downsized to a much smaller compact box. The developers aimed to size it down in order to make it less intrusive in the classrooms and not bulky or big enough for anyone to run into or accidently knock down. Downsizing actually helped improve the accuracy of the laser and allowed a much clearer view. The product is offered in two different models. Included in the new PRO design, hard wired 12-volt battery backup, speaker and siren, LED lights and external ports, security camera, microphone, DVR, and laser projection.

Safe-Marx could be the solution to keeping students and faculty safe during active shootings. Safe-Marx is predicted to be installed in various schools across the nation. Safe-Marx is expected to launch in the fall of 2021.