Athena Security Honored in Fast Company's 2026 Innovation by Design Awards for A Simple, Intuitive, Life-changing Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System

Athena Security's healthcare security innovation was showcased in Fast Company's award for innovation by design as the company continues its mission to help #savelives using the best technology that is Simple, Intuitive, And Life-changing.

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Athena Security, a leader in Weapons Detection Systems and best in class healthcare security technology, announced today that its Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System has been recognized in Fast Company's 2026 Innovation by Design Awards, in the Established Excellence: 5–14 Years in Business category.

Now in its 15th year, Fast Company's Innovation by Design Awards recognize design innovation from organizations around the world. More than 300 projects, products, and services were recognized in 2026 across a broad range of design disciplines.

For Athena Security, the recognition reflects a design philosophy that has guided the company from the beginning:

Technology designed to save lives should be simple, intuitive, and built around the people who actually have to use it.

"Some of the most important technology in the world gets used in stressful environments where people have only seconds to understand what is happening and what to do next," said Chris Ciabarra, Co-Founder and CTO of Athena Security. "Our philosophy is to remove complexity by making less clicks in our interface. Great security technology shouldn't require someone to become an engineer to operate it. It should feel intuitive with minimal interaction, provide useful information quickly, and help people make better decisions. When good design can also help save a life, design becomes much more than appearance."

Rethinking Security at the Ambulance Bay

Hospital ambulance bays present an unusual security challenge.

Unlike a traditional hospital entrance, the ambulance bay must remain accessible to paramedics, emergency personnel, patients, stretchers, medical equipment, and rapidly arriving vehicles. Emergency departments cannot simply create a conventional checkpoint that slows down patient care.

Athena designed its Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System or AB-WDS specifically around the customer's workflow.

The AB-WDS uses radar imaging sensing technology designed to ignore the metal in the stretcher while helping identify potential metallic or non metallic weapons allowing hospital personnel and patients to continue moving through an environment where speed and safety can matter.

Instead of forcing the emergency department to adapt its workflow around a security product, Athena approached the problem from the opposite direction:

Design the security system around the way an emergency department already works.

The system can be deployed at ambulance-bay entry points and is designed to support the screening of people entering an emergency department environment, including situations involving stretchers.

That distinction is important. Hospital security technology has to protect people without becoming an obstacle to patient care.

About Athena Security

Athena Security is an AI-powered physical security software company building an intelligent platform for detecting threats, managing visitors, understanding activity inside facilities, automating security workflows, and maintaining compliance. Athena combines AI, software, location intelligence, security data, and hardware integrations across weapons detection, AI X-ray, Healthcare Visitor Management, ambulance-bay screening, compliance, and security operations. Its AI software-driven, hardware-compatible approach allows Athena to help Schools, hospitals, casinos and other business types to help keep threats out of their facilities.

 Athena's mission is simple:

Help #SaveLives.

For more information about Athena Security and its AI software security technology platform, visit Athena-Security.com.

About Fast Company Innovation by Design

Fast Company's Innovation by Design Awards recognize 300 designers and businesses addressing significant problems and anticipating future needs through design. The 2026 competition spans 31 categories.

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SOURCE Athena Security INC