Is this for real ?

[Handley_Page]

I though 'smart guns' were the prerogative of the military. It seems that this is no longer the case:

See HERE.

I mention it because it strikes me that there's a plot bunny in there somewhere.

 

[JagFarlane]

Yeah it is and has been for a long, long time. I can remember reading debates about so called smart guns that would rely on a chip embedded in the users wrist. That was back in the '90s in New Jersey.

 

[oggbashan]

I remember an old SF story, possibly an early one by Asimov, that suggested that a future army would be equipped with such safety-conscious weapons that they were beaten by farmers with black powder rifles - because the black powder weapons would fire at anything.

The safety conscious weapons wouldn't fire if the environment might be damaged.

 

[R. Richard]

Just what I need. I go to a gun range and find that, due to a sensor malfunction, my handgun won't fire.

If the sensor system is really good, I have to pay to install a new owner, if I want to sell my used gun. Also, I can't test fire someone else's smart gun.

It sounds to me like a smart ass gun. I don't need smart ass.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

How about a smart gun that kills anyone that picks it up who is not the owner?

It was a Dickson or Reynolds story I read as a kid. The good guys had badges that glowed and guns that would fry you if you touched it, if you weren't the owner. Forget the title.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Just what I need. I go to a gun range and find that, due to a sensor malfunction, my handgun won't fire.

If the sensor system is really good, I have to pay to install a new owner, if I want to sell my used gun. Also, I can't test fire someone else's smart gun.

It sounds to me like a smart ass gun. I don't need smart ass.

You can fire that used gun if you have the watch that goes with it. Not so smart really. Just steal the watch too.

 

[49greg]

How about a smart gun that kills anyone that picks it up who is not the owner?

It was a Dickson or Reynolds story I read as a kid. The good guys had badges that glowed and guns that would fry you if you touched it, if you weren't the owner. Forget the title.

Seems like I've read a sci fi story, maybe several that included something about weapons that can't be used by the other army, or explode when the wrong person tries to use it.

Wasn't there a James Bond movie where Q gave him a smart gun that looked like a huge square camera with a pistol grip?

 

[49greg]

You can fire that used gun if you have the watch that goes with it. Not so smart really. Just steal the watch too.

Kind of like buying a used car that has the 'keyless' fob you keep in your pocket and just hit the button on the door to unlock and the button on the dash to start. Makes things nice in the winter not having to take your mittens off in sub-sub zero weather.

 

[Hypoxia]

Kind of like buying a used car that has the 'keyless' fob you keep in your pocket and just hit the button on the door to unlock and the button on the dash to start. Makes things nice in the winter not having to take your mittens off in sub-sub zero weather.

Other solution: Don't live in places with sub-sub-zero weather.

If you live in a place with too much ice, snow, and cold, do this:

1) Tie your snowblower to the roof of your vehicle.
2) Drive south.
3) When people point and ask "What's that?" then stop driving.
4) Throw away the snowblower and get a job.

OBguns:
Smart guns will just produce smarter targets. That's evolution.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Hm. These guns sound awfully dumb to me, since they operate on a lock-and-key system. The cyberpunk stories I've read used the term smart guns for weapons with enhanced target-acquisition or threat-detection systems. Those guns wouldn't fire at unarmed targets or those broadcasting a certain signal.

But the guns in the article? Fancy safeties, but hardly smart.

 

[jomar]

I remember an old SF story, possibly an early one by Asimov, that suggested that a future army would be equipped with such safety-conscious weapons that they were beaten by farmers with black powder rifles - because the black powder weapons would fire at anything.

The safety conscious weapons wouldn't fire if the environment might be damaged.

Love Asimov. Heard him speak once...place was overflowing. Great idea.