Skatchkins wrote:
After the 1994 Assault Weapons Bill (aka: Brady Bill) Colt MFG came up with an interesting design. In 1996, they took their failing All American 2000 semi-auto 9mm handgun and modified the grip to have a RF receiver. The owner wears a ring on their shooting hand that has a RF transmitter. A gun that is only capable of firing if the owner grabs the gun and the ring is near the grip. The receiver's power is pretty low so the ring darn near needs to be contacting the grip. Within the grip was a battery that operates a servo actuates a hammer pin block.
The gun was called the Z-9 and Z-40 depending on caliber. Later they changed from a ring to a wristband. Whether the ring or wristband, the RF code was unique to the device and the firearm. Colt really thought this was the answer to reduce accidental shootings and protect the public. They wined and dined the law enforcement community in hopes they would buy into this firearm. Their sales pitch was, "if you were ever separated from your firearm, the criminal can't use it on you".
Well, the cops didn't buy into the hype. They knew that better education of their officers would reduce the chances of them losing their guns. Besides, less than 3% of all the police officers in the NATION has ever lost their guns to criminals. Less than .05% were ever shot by their own guns, by criminals. Ironically, over 5% of cops have shot "themselves" with their own guns. :)
The colt smart gun was dead on arrival. A Irish company created a similar concept with a "smart trigger". It involved putting up some RF transmitters in "Gun Safe Zones" like schools. It broadcasts a signal that disables the trigger so the gun can't be fired. Unfortunately, no schools wanted to invest $$ in the project. Plus, when the battery dies in their "smart gun", the system did not work. The gun fired. Plus, EVERY gun in the planet would have to be equipped with such technology to be effective. Not realistic.
Now, the Germans are taking a stab at it. Introducing this Armatix iP1 Smart Gun in .22LR. It's a very pretty gun (in a Buck Rogers kinda way), but incorporates much of the same technology Colt introduced in 1996 with thir Z-9 and Z-40. This time, they make a watch instead of a ring or a wrist band. The gun is a full size gun so the grip has room for all the technology. The watch as a 15" operating distance and to "boot up" the gun/watch, you have to enter a code. If the watch goes beyond 15" from the gun, you will have to "reboot" it... assuming your realize that the gun is deactivated...
They promote this as their "new" technology but it's no different than all of the others before it and will probably fail. Making the gun more aesthetically pleasing (like the one pictured above) doesn't make it any better.
Below is their US version, called the iP1. Even more Buck Rogers looking!
