Posted: 6/21/2005 1:25:59 PM EDT
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Inside Smart Guns June 16, 2005 By Troy Dreier, PC Magazine Gun safety has been a serious concern for years, but like a bucket of water at a monkey knife fight, it seems technology will come to the rescue. A new breed of smart gun that, theoretically, fires only for its owner, represents the ultimate in gun safety to its proponents. How the weapons would actually perform was purely hypothetical, however, until the New Jersey legislature took on the issue in June of 1999. Gun safety advocates wanted to mandate the use of smart locks on all guns sold in the state, while opponents dismissed the plan as science-fiction, maintaining that, not only was there no such technology, but none would exist for years to come. To settle the dispute, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) was commisioned to examine the issue and create the world's first smart gun. The task fell to Dr. Donald H. Sebastian, senior vice president for research and development at NJIT. Devising a way for guns to recognize their owners was the first challenge. Biometric fingerprint recognition seemed an obvious choice but proved unworkable—people hold guns differently, and fingers don't always line up with readers. Solutions relying on combinations—along the lines of keyless car entry systems—or electronic tokens were out. With a robber in the house, entering passwords or looking for gadgets isn't an option. A breakthrough came from a chance conversation with Michael Recce, a colleague and an associate professor in the Information Systems Department. Recce was studying dynamic patterns, and suggested that the way people grip their guns might be as unique as fingerprints. Subsequent research at NJIT proved it: An individual's grip is specific and measurable. Continued... The smart gun is now halfway to completion, with a workable grip-recognition processor tethered to it by a cable. "The next phase is designed to accomplish two important tasks," says Sebastian, "to dramatically increase the number of sensors on the grip and to move all the electronics into the gun, so we have a fully untethered system." Getting the grip recognition system and the other components into the gun's magazine is the job of Timothy Chang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at NJIT. "The challenge is the degree of miniaturization necessary, as well optimizing power consumption and maintaining overall reliability," says Chang. The existing gun uses 16 9-mm ceramic piezoelectric sensors on the handle to measure where and how forcefully a gun's owner grips it. Chang wants to add 16 more for the next version, to get a better reading and to ensure accurate results in the event that some of the sensors fail. The sensors connect to preamplifiers which, in turn, pass the signals on to the digital signal processor (DSP), the core of the smart gun. In a tenth of a second—as the trigger is pulled—the DSP compares signals from the sensors with authorized patterns stored in memory. Chang is also concerned with battery life, a crucial factor in this case, of course. He imagines that the finished product will operate four hours in active shooting or several days when idle. The guns would likely come with charging stands, much as handheld computers and cell phones do now. Sebastian's team will unveil the next version of the smart gun in January 2006, and he sees a commercial version following three to five years after. When it's finished, gun makers will have a ready audience: New Jersey, Maryland, and some parts of California have already mandated the use of smart gun technology when it becomes available. Continued... Given American gun culture, though, smart guns will certainly face resistance when they debut. The NRA Web site contains articles ridiculing the devices, saying the technology will add hundreds of dollars to the price of guns, and claiming that they won't be as dependable as standard ones. Sebastian's team has to ensure that its high-tech arms don't fail more often than their traditional counterparts. As for the expense, he notes that NJIT is developing the technology with state and federal money, saving gun makers research and development costs. In fact, he's found eager partners in firearms makers, who support his work—although they don't want to be publicly associated with it. "We've spoken to a number of gun manufacturers who are anxious to add some form of authentication as a safety mechanism for their guns," Sebastian says. "We'll be looking for partners who have matured the electronic control technology for their firearms, because that's the shortest route to a full commercial solution." Read more biometrics stories on Extreme Bio Chips. Smart guns, no longer science fiction, will be a commercial reality in a few short years. And the future holds a wealth of possibilities, such as accelerometers to aid in firing practice and GPS sensors to help in crime-scene reconstructions. As Chang notes, smart gun technology isn't a restriction, but an enhancement. Copyright (c) 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
 So if I'm wounded and my grip changes, my gun doesn't work. If I'm using my weak hand, my gun doesn't work. If I toss it to my wife to continue the fight, my gun doesn't work If I toss it to my neighbor to continue the fight, my gun doesn't work If the batteries are dead, my gun doesn't work. If the .gov decides to visit, they turn it off from a safe distance, and my gun doesn't work Sounds great. 
So I guess I don't need to keep the handguns in the safe anymore then? I just leave them on the kitchen counter, in their charging stands? Can I get a CAR CHARGER? Afterall, my CCW gun is going to need to be charged. 
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Insane. Battery life: Prolonged power outage Long hunting trip Bad timing re: recharge schedule versus break-in Electronic: Effects of water, impact or extreme heat/cold Exposure to electric shock, EMP or directed energy weapon (like the ones they're experimenting with to disable cars) Grip sensitive: Use with weak hand in a bind? Use with injured hand in a bind? Can't let friends try it at the range Can't change your grip as you vary your shooting technique and do drills There're probably more reasons. |
Irrelevant. Maryland sold their SB211 with Smart Gun provisions based on "saving cops from being shot with their own guns". In the end, cops were specifically exempted from the BS that SB211 contained. The Enforcers of Society will never be subjected to this kind of crap |
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They should work on developing a voice controlled smart gun that only responds to the owners commands. How cool would that be. A person wouldn't even have to practice their trigger squeeze anymore. Just point the gun at the bad guy and yell "shoot" or "bang" or "I like pie", etc. |
Those auctioneer guys would have a really high rate of fire. |
Actually, this would be a logical choice for LE personel. If you remember a few months ago, a BG wrestled a firearm from the PD guy and shot him with it. NOw had the gun only fires when it being fired by a the legit owner the guy could be still alive. A good portion, and don't have any specific facts, that many PD guys are shot with their own gun. Some PDs require you to lock you sidearm in a safe while at the station because some BGs could get a hold of it, with this personalized techonoloyg you always have your gun with you. |
Not cool at all. |
If anyone should have this it should be the cops. They are public servants using equipment provided through taxpayers dollars. There should be more control over their weapons (and other items) to ensure as much accountability as possible and so they can be easily reined in if they ever go rogue or act in some other way against the public trust. People who own their own personal firearms should have access to the technology but only if they want it. |
[Sarcastically]Real funny! |
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I filed a patent a few years ago and then decided to abandon it because of a total lack of industry interest. My method used the electrical properties of the human body to conduct a low frequency signal that would not be detectable more than a few inches away from your skin. (There was another application that would have relied upon a time-domain-reflectometry principle for a biometric identification that would have overcome the drawbacks of injury, dirt, blood etc.) It would allow you to use a token or signal generator placed anywhere, holster, shoe, ankle etc. on or in your body to cause a signal to be detected when you held the gun with either hand, but not when the gun was held was held a foot away from you by someone else. A muzzle sensor would keep keep it from firing when in or near contact with you as well. I have a magazine that fits into my glock and uses a combination to lock the magazine into the gun and keep the gun from firing. Unlock it, you can now fire the gun and/or swap magazines. (It's a piece of crap novelty, btw.) Now imagine instead of buying a smart gun, you buy a smart magazine for your polymer-frame handgun. Put the magazine into your handgun and now you cannot fire it or remove the magazine-unless you have the correct signal being transmitted in your body. Swap magazines and you are back to your dumb gun. |
Irrelevant. Maryland sold their SB211 with Smart Gun provisions based on "saving cops from being shot with their own guns". In the end, cops were specifically exempted from the BS that SB211 contained. The Enforcers of Society will never be subjected to this kind of crap |
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I will use a smart gun when they've been in use for 35 years and function exactly as expected. I am a Process Enginer for a major Electronics Contract Manufacturer. I see the crappy designs companies put in their First generation products. Stuff I tell them is bad and they continue to manufacture for years until they get sued because otherwise it's not cost effective to fix. Do YOU want to be the case that forces them to fix the probelm? I know I don't because it will probably mean I'm dead. I want the gun to fire when I pull the trigger, every time. Until I have proof these electric wonders have good designs and 50 or less DPMO I'm gonna keep my "old Fashioned" metal levers and spring gun. |