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Gun With Wireless Arming Signal Goes On Sale Soon

An anonymous reader writes "Armatix has built a pistol that will disarm itself when it is taken away from a watch that sends it a wireless arming signal. The .22 caliber guns will go on sale in the US within months, and the initial price is 7,000 euro. Higher caliber models will follow. To activate the gun, users must enter a pin code on the wristwatch, and then keep it within roughly 20cm of the gun. If the person is disarmed, the gun can't be used against them. Also coming soon this year, civilians will also be able to buy three-shot Tasers, rubber bullets, as well as Heckler and Koch black rifles." This might not be good news for the citizens of New Jersey.

8 of 457 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wait hold on mugger... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    The idea is that the PIN will be entered when the watch is put on. Then you can put the gun where you can quickly get it, knowing that your kids can't use it even if they find it. Obviously the watch should disable itself when the wrist band is opened or torn. I'd worry about the battery life: What good is a gun that you can't use when you need it?

  2. Re:My H&K 91 has always been black by Neoprofin · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Black rifle" in this context is slang for a weapon built on the AR-15/10 platform.

  3. Re:Civilians with rubber bullets? Cops are bad eno by Neoprofin · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's already enough to horrify you on Youtube and Myspace with kids who like to play with Daddies Guns to put up badass pictures for their friends to see, and yet people still blame firearms when negligence happens. Every firearm I've ever purchased lays it out plane as day:

    1) Know your target and what's behind it.
    2) Assume every gun is loaded.
    3) Do not aim at or pull the trigger on anything you don't want to kill or destroy.

  4. Re:Wait hold on mugger... by jesseck · · Score: 5, Informative

    Read the article... law enforcement is specifically exempt. This is because the technology is too unreliable for defense / offense, and sometimes people don't have time to enter a PIN or may need to shoot with their other hand. This is for you and me, so we're no longer effective at defending ourselves.

  5. Re:Wait hold on mugger... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, when the gun comes within 20cm of the "armed" watch, then it is automatically armed as well. When the watch is not "armed" (PIN not entered after putting it on) or the gun is not within 20cm of the watch, then the gun is locked. You don't have to enter the PIN whenever the gun comes within range of the watch.

  6. Re:Wait hold on mugger... by ryturner · · Score: 5, Informative

    And yet the most common firearm for police officers doesn't have an external safety. Glock pistols have some internal safety's that prevent mechanical failures or dropping it from causing the gun to fire, but there is no external mechanical safety. When you pull the trigger it fires, when you don't pull the trigger it doesn't fire. Exactly the way it should be.

  7. Re:Wait hold on mugger... by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 4, Informative

    Let's look at actual implementation, when Washington DC implemented its recently overturned strict gun laws, violent crime rates rose. The same is true of other localities. When states have passed laws making it easy for anyone without a criminal record to get concealed carry permits, violent crime rates fell.

    --
    The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
  8. Re:Even more useless... by joshki · · Score: 4, Informative

    Fail.

    No Soldier, Sailor, or Marine I've ever known "picks up an AK-47" to use.

    There is absolutely no advantage to using an AK-47 over an M4 or M16 -- in fact there are significant disadvantages. Logistics is one -- where are you going to get ammunition for your battlefield pickup AK? Are you going to pick up some old left-over 1970's ammo the bad guys use? Ball ammo that doesn't fragment like XM-193 does, nor penetrate like M855 or SS109 does? Also, the legal jeopardy a person who did that unnecessarily would put themselves in would be an issue as well.

    The M4 actually has a dust cover -- wonder why? It's so that dirt and sand don't get in the action. The AK has none of that -- and will certainly fail if it has sand and dirt dumped into it. Either weapon will fail if dirt and sand get into the action.

    The weight of the bullet has very little to do with the performance of the bullet against the human body -- trust me, you'd far rather be hit by an old 7.62x39 ball round than a modern XM193, SS109, or 77 grain TAP round in 5.56 (any of which will cut right through IIIA body armor, while 7.62x39 will not).

    And btw -- there's no such thing as "Nato 223" -- the spec is 5.56x45 NATO, and there is a significant difference between .223 and 5.56 -- such that firing 5.56 ammo from a weapon chambered in .223 may result in the weapon failing. The diameter of the bullet is the same (.224"), but the chamber specifications are different.

    Ironically, you posted that people get outside their comfort zone, then you posted outside your realm of knowledge.
    The one thing you did get right is that .22LR is not generally considered adequate for a self-defense round.

    --
    I do not read or respond to AC's. If you want a discussion, log in. Otherwise, don't waste your time.