Colorado High Schooler Invents Smart Gun That Unlocks With Your Fingerprint

[Ethnod]

17-year-oldkid from Boulder, Colorado, Kai Kloepfer, just won $50k for his prototype of a "Smart" Gun that locks with a biometric fingerprint scan. The gun works by creating user profiles and attaching a finger print to that profile and will not unlock (fire) unless its unlocked correctly. Kai has already bought himself a 3D printer and says that the rest of the $50k will be used to integrate the fingerprint scanner.

 

 

Very impressive idea I have to day. And yea yea yea, we all know that fingerprint scanners can be fooled but its 1) a 17 year old high school kid and 2) it is mailing about barrier of entry. The effort and complicated know how to get around a scanner is low, this is something that will most certainly aid things and as biometric tech advances it will get harder and harder.

 

Very cool regardless

 

Source:

https://techcrunch.com/2014/09/13/colorado-high-schooler-invents-smart-gun-that-unlocks-with-your-fingerprint/

[Guest]

Just like Dredd!  Awesome!  Does it detonate if someone else tries to use it? Who wants to try first?

[dizmo]

Hasn't this been a thing for quite a while?

I didn't think it was new.

[bbqsauce]

i wonder if the pcb itself can withstand the gun firing.

it's really neat tho

[Techhog]

In before "'Murica"

 

Seriously, this would be a good thing for police guns... assuming they actually destroy the guns they replace.

[Lavachyste]

The best would be that it can be desactivated by distance so If you use it badly, Police can shut it down. Or to activate it, you need to do at the police station.

[nj4ck]

This has been around for a while, it even has its own wikipedia article...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_gun

[Fulgrim]

Sounds like a smart idea, but in practice in the real world it is less than ideal.

 

Where reaction time is the deciding factor in someone being able to defend themselves, or another person.

[mr.skyrim_pc]

The best would be that it can be desactivated by distance so If you use it badly, Police can shut it down. Or to activate it, you need to do at the police station.

That would be a REALLY bad idea.

[KeltonDSMer]

Sweet, Boulder is my hometown! This carries a little extra weight having been developed in CO and by a highschooler, Boulder is less than an hour away from Littleton where Columbine HS had that horrible massacre back in '99.

 

 

Sounds like a smart idea, but in practice in the real world it is less than ideal.

 

Where reaction time is the deciding factor in someone being able to defend themselves, or another person.

 

I agree, even a fraction of a second extra time to "activate" the firearm will probably keep this from being widely adopted for quite sometime; at least until the technology is super polished.

[Ethnod]

@dizmo and @nj4ck let the poor kid have his moment   yea you are probably right but its still cool that a 17 year old kid not only had the idea but is actually going to prototype it. I hope we end up buying his other random future tech in 20 years

 

Oh and @Fulgrim I am not sure its meant to be for law enforcement and those kinds of quick draw situations. It seems to be intended for home weapons and so on. Guns that are left unattended and meant to stop use by kids etc

[Fulgrim]

Oh and @Fulgrim I am not sure its meant to be for law enforcement and those kinds of quick draw situations. It seems to be intended for home weapons and so on. Guns that are left unattended and meant to stop use by kids etc

 

Even for a civilian to use it as self defense, keeping your guns in a secure gun safe/cabinet is plenty good enough. When it comes down to it, in a situation where you need to draw that firearm to defend yourself, that small time frame for the thing to scan your fingerprint and activate can and will be the defining factor on whether you will live or die.

 

If an armed robber/burglar breaks into your home/store, or confronts you in any kind of situation - they won't stand there for another ~2 to 3 seconds whilst your gun unlocks so you can fire back.

[TheKDub]

Very clever idea.

[nj4ck]

@dizmo and @nj4ck let the poor kid have his moment   yea you are probably right but its still cool that a 17 year old kid not only had the idea but is actually going to prototype it. 

yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah I'm not saying its not awesome that he's prototyping it, that is in fact very awesome, what I'm saying is that its not actually his idea. The idea has been around for at least 10 years.

[Đỗ Đức Huy]

This is similar to the PPK that Bond uses in SKyfall. A statement not a killing machine

[FrankGrimes]

kid better be careful  - "Mossberg has trademarked the term "Smart gun" "

[Cookybiscuit]

inb4 stuff like this is a requirement for all firearms.

[Nit3Rid3R]

Anyone? 

 

[dlf]

I can already hear the NRA and the gun makers screaming about this.

[Trik'Stari]

Hasn't this been a thing for quite a while?

I didn't think it was new.

It has been.

 

And with 3d printing now capable of printing an entire firearm (including the barrel) this is now pointless.

 

People will always find a way to kill people, the only thing you can do to keep yourself safe is prepare to defend yourself and those you love.

 

 

Even for a civilian to use it as self defense, keeping your guns in a secure gun safe/cabinet is plenty good enough. When it comes down to it, in a situation where you need to draw that firearm to defend yourself, that small time frame for the thing to scan your fingerprint and activate can and will be the defining factor on whether you will live or die.

 

If an armed robber/burglar breaks into your home/store, or confronts you in any kind of situation - they won't stand there for another ~2 to 3 seconds whilst your gun unlocks so you can fire back.

Indeed, the safest place you can keep your pistol, is on your hip, or under your pillow with the safety on, windows locked, door locked.

[Admire]

 

 

Indeed, the safest place you can keep your pistol, is on your hip, or under your pillow with the safety on, windows locked, door locked.

 

Never really understood the whole pillow thing. There must be more practical places to hide it within reach of there you sleep....What about a bed holster, like those on horses in western movies. Would look pretty damn cool too.

[DLM_012]

I feel bad for the kid. He's gonna get a ton of hate from people since he's public about his design. I don't mean hate in the form of people on the internet defaming and slandering him as keyboard warriors I mean legitimate threats on his life.

 

All  I can say is stay safe.

[Poohy14]

Yeah I think this was already a thing with guns with the fingerprint scanner built into them. maybe this kid did it a more effective way then anyone else but this isn't anything new with guns a scanners.

[dizmo]

@dizmo and @nj4ck let the poor kid have his moment   yea you are probably right but its still cool that a 17 year old kid not only had the idea but is actually going to prototype it. I hope we end up buying his other random future tech in 20 years

 

Oh and @Fulgrim I am not sure its meant to be for law enforcement and those kinds of quick draw situations. It seems to be intended for home weapons and so on. Guns that are left unattended and meant to stop use by kids etc

Only...it wasn't his idea. Wasn't this in Judge Dredd? I've also seen it in other movies as well.

I mean sure, cool he's actually making something out of it, but he can't take credit for the idea. That's just wrong.

 

Even for a civilian to use it as self defense, keeping your guns in a secure gun safe/cabinet is plenty good enough. When it comes down to it, in a situation where you need to draw that firearm to defend yourself, that small time frame for the thing to scan your fingerprint and activate can and will be the defining factor on whether you will live or die.

 

If an armed robber/burglar breaks into your home/store, or confronts you in any kind of situation - they won't stand there for another ~2 to 3 seconds whilst your gun unlocks so you can fire back.

Your argument is a little flawed my friend. Getting the gun out of the safe would be a lot slower than simply opening a drawer/reaching for its hiding place and unlocking it.

This is, of course, in countries that require them to be under lock and key.

Not only that, I highly doubt that it would take as long as 2-3 seconds to unlock. It'd be way faster than that, provided they're smart enough to make the entire area where the hand rests on the grip a sensor pad. Or at least a good portion.

It would unlock well before you'd even aimed the gun at the suspect. You're not aimed right at the baddie the second you touch the weapon.

[Clyne]

Anyone? 

 

Skyfall 007