State getting a grip on smart guns - NJIT works on weapon that fires only after recognizing owner

Star-Ledger ^ | Monday, October 27, 2003 | STEVE TWOMEY

[yonif]

It rests -- Italian, gray, unloaded -- in the right palm of Michael Recce, although the professor is such an un-gun guy he can't remember what the weapon is, even if it is the sun of his solar system. It's a gun; enough said.

[yonif]

BANG

[N. Theknow]

Step 1. Address the weapon.

Step 2. "Hello Gun."

[yonif]

ROFL...but what happens if it is a German make?

[Alberta's Child]

New Jersey Tech bump.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

CCW holder to mugger: "Give me a second while a reboot the safety on my handgun."

[N. Theknow]

Guten Tag Mein Kanone. (Kablooeygemacht)

[drlevy88]

And what if the owner has a sprained wrist or a cut and has to shift the weapon to the other hand?

Or for that matter just use a different finger on the trigger. Or has to use it with a glove on.

How about something like a trigger ring that the shooter wears; that would make it possible for the gun to instantly know it's OK to operate. Maybe it could be programmed to recognize ordinary rings. Backup identification could be a passcode entered through a series of squeezes.

[Billthedrill]

Hey, I think putting it on the controls of an airliner is a great idea. The pilot gets killed by a terrorist and the terrorist can't fly the plane. Brilliant!

Well, of course, no one else can, either. But that's only a problem if you're a passenger.

[SJSAMPLE]

Who cares if it works?
IIRC, even the NJ law exempts the po-leece.

We all know what this is really about.

[drlevy88]

But then the plane could be flown to its destination from the ground.

[pabianice]

Morons. If the Left spent as much on firearms safety education as it does on banning guns or making it impossible to fire them, accidental gun deaths would be in single numbers. But no. They have to inflict their stupidity and prejudice on the rest of us.

[drlevy88]

Well the article does say it could be used by cops too, to prevent a wrested-away gun from being used to shoot them. I bet none go for it.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

What if your trigger finger is injured and you pull with the middle finger?
What if your right hand is injured and you shift it to your left hand?
What if the battery is dead in the pistol?
What if, in a firefight, you are injured and give the pistol to your law enforcement partner who may have dropped and lost his?
What if you have gloves on?

I'll bet you the police will be exempt from having these modifications on their firearms.

[drlevy88]

Dead batteries is one thing I'd have very little worry about with today's technologies. The reliability to the authorized shooter, is very much of concern.

[Billthedrill]

They're not currently capable of that, you know. They can get close, but people still have to land them.

[dead]

I think this is a great idea, given the utter impossibility of computer malfunction.

[TC Rider]

..and sometimes, you just don't get a good grip under pressure.

I'll take this seriously when the NJHP and all other cops in NJ embrace the new technology.

[Frohickey]

Dead batteries, and then your gun won't fire.
If its via ring detection circuitry, you could be fighting for you life in areas with high electromagnetic interference.
If its via fingerprint detection, what if you have blood/grease/mud in your hands.
If its via grip recognition, what if prior to drawing your gun, the bad guy whacked your hand with a steel pipe?

[jjm2111]

NJ Losers alert!

Note that the Peoples Republic of New Jersey under the fearless leadership of our Dear Leader, Kim Jong McGreevey has a law that only "smart guns" can be purchased once "smart gun" technology becomes "commercially viable".

And, of course, the po-leece are exempted.

Once "smart guns" are mandated for purchase I'm leaving this state. I think "smart gun" technology might have it's uses, but when you need a gun you need one RIGHT NOW! and you don't have time to re-boot. Fingerprint sensors are especially ridiculous as the sensors could be smudged, one could be firing the weapon with the other hand or have gloves one.