Smart gun recognises its owner

It will be interesting to see if the Republicans oppose this form of "gun control."

Smart gun recognises its owner

Tim Radford
Friday December 17, 2004
The Guardian

US scientists have tested a handgun that can only be used by its owner. Sensors embedded in the handle recognise the owner's grip, so if the pistol is ever grabbed by an unauthorised user it should refuse to fire.

The New Jersey senator Frank Lautenberg, who secured £550,000 in federal money for the project, said deaths such as children shooting children after getting hold of a loaded gun "can be prevented - or at least reduced".

The New Jersey Institute of Technology developed the system called dynamic grip recognition. Since June five New Jersey police officers have been trained to use it.

Just as people have unique fingerprints, iris patterns and voice prints, so humans also have distinct walks and hand grips.

The team found that no two ways of holding a gun or squeezing a trigger would be identical. The sensors in the prototype grip can read and record the force of the hand during the first second the trigger is squeezed. The idea is to introduce"personalised" guns that only fire for authorised users.