The Smart Gun or "Personalized Gun" is a concept gun that aims to reduce the misuse of guns by children/felons through the use of RFID chips or other proximity devices, fingerprint recognition, or magnetic rings. Only magnetic devices are readily available.
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Proponents of smart gun technology say that smart gun technology would reduce or eliminate accidental use and misuse of guns by children and teens, as well as reducing accidental discharges or the use of a gun against the owner if it is stolen or taken away.[1]
Smart guns have been criticized by gun-rights groups like the NRA[2] as well as by gun-control groups like the Violence Policy Center. Gun-rights groups generally feel that smart gun technology is an attempt to control citizen ownership of guns. The Violence Policy Center feels smart guns will make gun ownership more commonplace by making guns seem safer. [3]
Some smart gun technology uses a Verichip which is permanently embedded under the user's skin in order to activate the gun (and to prevent unauthorized users from stealing or duplicating a non-implanted ring or bracelet activator) [4]. Verichip is a technology that has been strongly criticized by privacy advocates. [5]
Many gun enthusiasts object to smart guns on a philosophical/regulatory basis as well as a technological basis. Gun expert Boston T. Party writing about smart guns on page 35/24 of Boston's Gun Bible says "No defensive firearm should ever rely upon any technology more advanced than Newtonian physics. That includes batteries, radio links, encryption, scanning devices and microcomputers. Even if a particular system could be 99.9% reliable, that means it is expected to fail once every 1000 operations. That is not reliable enough. My life deserves more certainty."
At least one major seller of smart gun technology admits potential fallibility of the technology. IGun Technology Corporation say on their website that "No mechanical or electrical device is capable of 100% reliability....Personalized guns offer advantages to some people and disadvantages to others."[6]
The Magna-Trigger system for K- through N-frame size Smith and Wesson revolvers prevents the trigger from coming back far enough to fire. It was developed by Joe Davis in 1975, and has proven reliable. This system will work ambidextrously, provided the magnetic rings used are worn on both hands.[7]
The Magloc conversion kit for 1911A1 pistols works by stopping the gun from firing unless a magnetic ring worn by the user repels the magnetic blocking device installed inside the grip.[8] Once the system is activated using the matching magnetic ring, the owner can switch the over-ride switch to the on position and allow anyone to fire the pistol.[9]
In 1999, Mossberg Shotguns, through its subsidiary Advanced Ordnance and an electronics design contractor KinTech Manufacturing developed a “Smart” shotgun using RFID technology. This product is currently being marketed by IGun Technology Corp. The advantage with this design was that the ring worn by the owner and used to identify the owner has a passive tag (meaning no batteries) that relies on proximity to the gun for power. The battery pack in the gun is designed to last up to 10 years when not used or up to 8 hours of continual usage (meaning always ready to be fired). The gun has low-battery indication.
A current prototype personalized gun relies on biometric sensors in the grip and trigger that can track a gun owner’s hand size, strength, and Dynamic grip style also known as (DGR) Dynamic Grip Recognition. The gun is programmed to recognize only the owner or anyone whom the owner wishes to authorize. One of the major projects involves the New Jersey Institute of Technology team, which claims the prototype identifies gun owners with 90% accuracy.
The smart gun is supposed to:
If chip failure occurs one of two things can happen:
Initial prototypes produced by Colt's Manufacturing Company involved the intended user wearing a bracelet that emitted a radio signal that would activate a mechanism inside the pistol to allow the gun to be fired. The project was apparently scrapped over concerns of the batteries in the bracelet and the pistol failing.
The 1973 movie Westworld contains guns that can be fired against humanoid robots, but use computer sensors to keep from firing against actual humans. "The guns issued to the guests also have temperature sensors that prevent them from shooting each other or anything else living but allow them to 'kill' the room-temperature androids."[10] When the robots rebel, they override the restrictions, and begin shooting human beings with the guns. The lawgiver gun in the Judge Dredd comics is linked to the DNA of the authorized user.
Do You Really Need a Smart Gun?