Jul 31, 2023 13:00:00

The world's first smart gun that can only be used by the owner will soon appear

The world's first `` smart gun that can fire only registered users '' is scheduled to be shipped in December 2023. The Wall Street Journal summarizes what the smart guns that will soon appear on the market are like.

The First Smart Gun Is Finally Coming to Market. Will Anyone Buy It? - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-first-smart-gun-is-finally-coming-to-market-will-anyone-buy-it-67314e0

In the United States, development of a technology called 'smart gun' that can only be fired by the owner has been promoted since the 1990s. People who support smart guns as `` it will lead to reducing accidental shooting and theft of firearms '' and negative for the spread of smart guns as `` the government may outlaw the sale of firearms other than smart guns '' people exist.

However, until now, smart guns have not been widely sold in the market due to technical problems such as 'smart guns do not work as expected' and 'pressure from smart gun denialists', Wall said.・Street Journal points out.

Meanwhile, Biofire , a startup in Colorado, USA, performs identity verification with a fingerprint authentication sensor installed in the grip and a face authentication sensor on the back, and can fire only when this is cleared. The gun is scheduled to ship in December 2023. If this happens, it will be the first widely marketed smart gun on the market.

The price of the smart gun developed by Biofire is 1,499 dollars (about 210,000 yen), and the same kind of 9mm handgun is usually sold for about 400 dollars (about 57,000 yen) to 800 dollars (about 113,000 yen). I'm here.

Michael Schwartz, executive producer at San Diego County Gun Owners, an organization seeking gun ownership, points out that many gun owners are skeptical of smart guns with high-tech features. ``For many of our members, the primary reason for owning a firearm is self-defense, and it has never been simpler,'' Schwartz said. ``It has to be 110% reliable.'' I'm here.

In response, Kai Klopfer, founder of Biofire, explained why the company's smart guns are equipped with both a fingerprint recognition system and a face recognition system. By doing so, even if one of the biometric authentication systems fails, it will be possible to fire without problems.'

After the 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting incident , venture capitalists Ron Conway and Peter Thiel are investing in smart gun technology, but Biofire, which was established in 2014, We have raised $ 300 billion (about 42.5 trillion yen) from here.

According to Klopfer, Biofire's smart gun, which can only be purchased at online shops, has received pre-orders from thousands of people at the time of writing the article. However, Mr. Klopfer does not reveal detailed order numbers.

Biofire is demonstrating a smart gun to the media in early 2023, but the Wall Street Journal points out that the company's smart gun malfunctioned at this time. Mr. Klopfer mentioned that the smart gun malfunctioned during the demonstration, ``Although there was a bullet jam, there was no problem with fingerprint authentication or face authentication.''

In addition, Mr. Klopfer said that he did not agree with the ``mandatory smart guns'' promoted by gun control advocates, saying, ``Supporting gun control could lead to alienating Biofire's potential customers. because there isn't,' he says.

New Jersey has a law that requires all stores to sell smart guns if smart guns are on the market. As such, Biofire said it has no plans to sell its smart guns in New Jersey.

Gun maker Colt became one of the first companies to develop a smart gun in the 1990s, but the smart gun did not work properly in media demonstrations. As a result, consumers implemented a boycott and ultimately Colt's smart gun never went on sale.

Germany's Armatix also developed a smart gun in the 2010s, but this was opposed by gun rights activists and led to dealers discontinuing smart guns.

On the other hand, smart gun supporters have argued that smart guns will prevent theft of firearms, accidental shooting of children's handguns, and the occurrence of shooting incidents. In fact, according to a 2003 study, 37% of accidental gun shots could be prevented with smart gun technology.

Also, a 2019 study by Johns Hopkins University revealed that 50% of gun owners who keep their guns safely stored are likely to purchase smart guns. In addition, eight in 10 gun owners support the sale of smart guns, and two in 10 say they are likely to buy one.

In addition to Biofire, several startups are working on the development of smart guns, but it seems that only Biofire is planning to sell smart guns in the near future.