Belgian Arms Producer Develops 'Smart Gun'
Tue Jun 4, 1:25 PM ET
By Bart Crols

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian company has made a prototype of a "smart gun" that can only be used by its owner, developed under contract with the U.S. government to make it harder for criminals to use stolen weapons.

"The idea is to make a gun fire when the owner wants it to and not to when the owner doesn't want to," said Robert Sauvage, a spokesman for FN Herstal, which [b]has received about $20 million from the U.S. Department of Justice[/b] (news - web sites).

Gun control is a hot issue in the United States, where about 30,000 people die every year from gun-related injuries.

A 1994 FBI (news - web sites) study showed one in six police officers who died in the line of duty were killed with their own gun after being disarmed by a suspect.

Sauvage said the system now being tested uses an electronic recognition device attached to the owner, which the gun would be able to recognize. He said production could start in three years.

[b]The "smart gun" technology could have wider uses than in policing, such as gun control at shooting galleries or to reduce hunting accidents.

"A weapon could for example be programmed to shoot on a Saturday morning between 10 and 12 a.m. in the hands of Mr. X at the shooting gallery of Herstal in the east-west direction," Sauvage said. [/b]

FN Herstal is based in the southern Belgian town of Herstal, near Liege, and has branches in several countries, including FN Manufacturing Inc in the United States.

The Belgian arms producer acknowledges that many commercial and legal problems still need to be addressed, including the extra cost of the new weapons system. The cost of such a weapon may be about 20 percent more than conventional guns.

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what a bunch of crap!

A real 'smart gun' would be a gun that aims it's self ala Aliens!! lol

I want to know how this "technology" is going to reduce hunting accidents.....

Will it be smart enough to know that the target I am about to shoot is not a "valid" target?

Ok, here's a t-shirt idea for ya'all:
"DON'T BE DUMB ENOUGH TO USE A SMART GUN" [stick]

Smart enough to use a "dumb gun" not dumb enough to use a "smart gun"

"Sauvage said the system now being tested uses an electronic recognition device attached to the owner, which the gun would be able to recognize. "

One last thing to think about.
Would an electronic pulse gun disable this guns capabilities?

FullRange: Yeah, I like that one, too. Maybe I'll just have to get a table at the next gun show.

How dare you! Don't you know that p****** is a dirty word.

Very very scary! I have a few other questions(to which I already know the most likely answers): How long does the battery last(not nearly long enough)? How do you replace it when it dies? Can it be disabled (probably)? If so, wouldn't any criminal disable it(count on it)? If not, will your defensive gun be totally useless when the batteries die(of course)? Can you be sure that the complex electronics will never malfunction (no)? Can it recognize you and activate in the time it takes to draw and fire(doubtful)?

Haven't I read here that gun enthusiast cops practically beg their fellow officers to clean their guns once in a while? Are these same officers going to replace their batteries regularly?

Did they convinently forget to mention that about 2.5 million crimes are prevented by armed civillians every year?

One of the recent shows on "The Learning Channel" (IIRC) dealt with new weapon technology. Including a "reduced reliability weapon" (my term for a "smart gun") that uses a magnetic ring that has to be held against the grip in a VERY EXACT place. Off by a few milimeters? Dominent hand injured? Congrats, welcome to the world of "reduced reliability weapons"...

Scott

What an F'd up idea.

I know its been talked about and kick around quite abit, but comn!

We all know this "easier" modern world is actually the opposite.

Electronics FAIL!!
Computers will never be smarter then us!!
If they were, computers would've created humans!
(I know scenes from the martrix are flashing in your head)

Ya know theses brand spanking new cars that have a computer that controls the cigarette lighter and the window washer fluid, ya those cars are going to be the most expensive steaming piles of shit when they become 8 to 10 years old.

All this goes for electronics on weapons.
They just don't mix!!
The trend is we are making electronics that supposedly make up for are stupidity, we are destined to fail for sure.

These "advancements" on weapons are nothing more then a ploy to re-assure the sheeple that gun control is happening, so we will all be safe in the future.
This is the same strategy that goes along with the 94 crime bill and all of the other oppressing gun laws that actually do more harm then good.

When will it end?

I'll admit...smart guns have a sort of coolness factor to them.  But I wouldn't want to stake my life on a machine, especially a machine with batteries...

Its bad enough that guns can jam...

Do you think the anti-liberal-nazi types of our country really care if it works or not? As long as the technology exists, they will push for it as a "common-sense" approach to gun violence.
But (new slogan):
He who lives by the smart gun, is usually shot by the one who doesn't