Newswise — A new technology has been developed that could help prevent gun tragedies, especially when a gun is used by someone other than the gun's licensed owner. Researchers have designed, built and tested a handgun that will fire only when its component circuitry and software recognize the grip of an authorized shooter. The technology measures not only the size, strength and structure of a person's hand, but also the reflexive way in which the person acts. For the smart gun, the observed actions are how the person squeezes something to produce a unique and measurable pattern. Embedded sensors in the experimental gun then can read and record the size and force of the user's hand during the first second when the trigger is squeezed.
Engineer Donald Sebastian of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, is head of the research unit and is the senior vice-president of research and development. See video of the "smart gun" at http://www.aip.org/dbis/stories/2005/15006.html .
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