Armatix iP1: The Infamous German "Smart Gun"
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- Опубликовано: 22 сен 2022
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The Armatix iP1 is a pistol created by former H&K designer Ernst Mauch that was released - or almost released - in the US in late 2013 and early 2014. It is a .22LR caliber semiauto pistol that incorporates an RFID-connected authentication link between a watch and this pistol, so that the pistol can only be fired (in theory) when the authorized user is wearing the watch. Hence, it is a "smart gun".
Mechanically, it is a simple blowback pistol that uses an electromagnet to deactivate a firing pin block type of safety. When the watch has properly activated the pistol, the electromagnet is energized and the pistol will fire. If it is not so authorized, the firing pin block remains in place and the pistol will simply go "click" ineffectually. There are, of course, several caveats, loopholes, and exploitable vulnerabilities in this system.
When the pistol came on the market, it caused a significant reaction among gun rights proponents, as a law on the books in New Jersey mandates that 30 months after a "smart gun" is determined to be commercially available anywhere in the US, all non-"smart" pistols become illegal to sell in that state. The Armatix was expected to trigger this law, and by extension effectively ban all handguns in New Jersey. As it turned out, the state Attorney General determined in late 2014 that the iP1 did not meet the technical requirements of the law, but by this time the pistol was well and truly sunk. Dealers who considered stocking it were bullied out of that decision, sometimes to the point of receiving threats on their lives. As a result, the pistol never saw significant commercial sale, and the only ones in the US appear to be those initially brought in for marketing and demonstration.
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Bringing a whole new meaning to "out of battery failure".
Bit like the M1 Bazooka, kind of a bummer when a Panzer 4 comes rumbling down the road only for your Bazooka to not fire, once the batteries died on the Bazooka it was in essence dead weight.
@@LazyLifeIFreak Or a blunt object for hand to hand combat (?)
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine Let me put it this way, they left much to be desired. Not to mention the Germans equivalent (Panzershrek) used a rather simple spring and induction coil eliminating the need for batteries.
Imagine dying in a gunfight because your watch ran out of battery
@@thygreatestpog9576 If the person can't be bothered to handle the upkeep of making sure the batteries are good, they don't deserve to be carrying a gun lol
"Unfortunately, Officer Murphy was killed in the line of duty due to his gun experiencing a fatal runtime error caused by faulty firmware. Please download the previous firmware version to avoid this issue."
Your pistol needs to be patched and updated, please plug your pistol into the computer.
Well then he shouldn’t have been a cop.
404 ammunition not found
Now there's an idea for a Robocop reboot
Respawn Murphy.
You know what we need? Always online subscription based DRM ammunition.
Oh God, GaaS (guns as a service)
Magazines should copy the way printer cartridges work. Have after market mag? Gun no work. Have a particular brand of ammo? Too bad.
@@Adriethyl except there's a huge market of off-brand cartridges/chips/software that solve that exact problem. Also, if that would work the same way guns would be sold a lot cheaper, because manufacturers would expect to make money from selling expandable materials, not the product itself. Some modern printers, namely Kyocera and Brother also just warn you about using off-brand cartridges and toner, revoking their liability if printer breaks. That's a marketing point.
What is drm
@@sdivine13 Digital Rights Management
It usually applies to games and other digital media to prevent pirates and such unauthorized distribution (with only mild success most of the time, mostly annoying paying customers).
Here, you'd have to presumably pay the gun's manufacturers a subscription or the gun wont work with a particular ammo brand or type.
“A USB attachment to update the firmware of the gun”
What a time to be alive
Gonna get the DLC to get my pistol to fire in Full Auto
@@trenteaston3515 still waiting for the battlepass
@@trenteaston3515 Monetization of the gun
Imagine you can't fire your gun because your region isn't supported by the current version of the firmware.
@@lolasdm6959 I had to watch an ad before it would let me reload
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Kraut space magic." - Arthur C. Clarke, probably
EMP = electronic gun doesn’t work.
Like cold fusion and the space elevator, they are probably only a few decades away, and probably always will be 👍👍
@@wubaru Depends on shielding and design.
@@philurbaniak1811 thankfully it’s starting to look like we won’t have to wait around for cold fusion if the current breakthroughs in non cold fusion tech are going to continue
I guess cold fusion is safer than fission….
Unless you’re Vladimir Putin…
This gun TRULY exemplifies a "forgotten weapon".
"Best forgotten weapon, " as in, best that it is forgotten.
It is a gimmick gun. There are plenty of those floating around.
Eh. I'd build a newer model chambered in .357 Mag with an extended mag and full auto that only unlocks when it scans your current license status,
I live in New Jersey, and trust me, it is far from forgotten.
@@catsspat yeet when you piss gun nuts off so bad your waiting for the boog bois to drop by
"this thing is blinking, i don't know why it's blinking occasionally." perfection
Between this and the coilgun Ian's changed his gun batteries more than most people do their tv remote
"Press the bottom right button of your watch to put it into 'gun mode'"
Now there's a sentence I wish I could say.
I was always amused when being sent places via chartered airliner in the Army. The preflight briefing by the flight attendants included the statement "Place your rifles on the floor with muzzles facing to the outboard of the aircraft"
The LED lit funnel on top of the non-waterproofed battery and electronics compartment genuinely made me laugh
There's a lot of this kinda nonsense involved in car parts. Expensive ECUs placed at the lowest point below a funnel-like structure, under condensation drains etc.
That's the thing with many engineers and designers. They see the immediate problem but not the consequences of their solution.
@@migfoojie686 Oh yeah! I've seen it over and over again throughout my career; designs that work in the lab but are a complete disaster in the 'real world'.
Research and Development (my arse!) more like get it working and don't even think about proper field trials. Grr.....
Pax
yeah total deal breaker huh hahaha
I would assume if they got an contract they would address this design "feature"
I think Ian deserves serious credit for the expertise with which he presents the political aspects of the story behind this particular gun. As he says, it's a *really* dicey subject that raises a lot of people's hackles. But as usual, he deftly communicates to his viewers how the gun works, why it was made that way and what happened as a result, without ever inserting himself into that argument. Great job!
New Jersey's law is unconstitutional
It's not a dicey subject. It's a backdoor attempt to violate the Constitution, and there is no nuance to that.
@@victorbressler7156 Well unfortunately the founding fathers did not leave instructions on how the digital world should be governed so I don't think this firearm or new jerseys law is unconstitutional.
@@magiricod the right to bear arms shall not be infringed simple as
@@victorbressler7156 so let's give it to felons. Like the founding fathers wouldn't let me hold a musket. 😂😂😂 I'm pro gun you gotta at least be realistic you have to explain that criminals don't care about the law. I think that the spirit of the second amendment is important. I hope the court nullifies the NJ law. The way out of gun violence is to increase the QOL of the average American.
Brings a whole new meaning to “Synchronize watches before the job.”
Regarding the swapped colors for “safe” and “fire”, I imagine it's the result of choosing colors based only on the RFID system rather than the gun as a whole. In RFID systems (or any access control system for that matter) green would mean “access granted” and red would mean “access denied”, so it makes some measure of sense viewed that way.
No doubt this was the subject of numerous long debates at Armatix.
I think it was evidence of the gun being developed by people who knew a lot more about RFID tech than guns.
And it matches the “green = go, red = stop” logic of traffic lights.
We use an RFID badges at my work and when you scan them on the door it shows green for unlocked and red for locked.
Red vs Green is a terrible color code as red green colorblindness is so common. It works for traffic lights as they don't look for a colour but "top light means stop, bottom light means go"
@@Treblaine I'm pretty sure changing LED colours would have been the easiest modification if it became a reiterized mass market gun.
Ian. It's New Jersey. I can promise you it was an intended consequence. Two and a half years is barely enough time to get a new pistol to market, let alone a new pistol that integrates brand new (and probably under patent) technology.
Glad I'm not the only one who realizes that patents would be a HUGE sticking point with this law. Unless other companies develop their own non-infringing technology (or license it), the first company to actually market a smart gun there will have a total monopoly, and all other companies would be forced out of the market.
@@mattelder1971 that was the supposed carrot to get companies to develop the smart guns.
It's also laughably unconstitutional
@@KittSpiken but when written, they thought that they could get away with it.
@@groofromtheup5719 oh totally, they still do. For the most part they still are.
I totally forgot about this thing. Being a Californian, I was especially curious how it managed to get on the Safe Handgun Roster without the capability to microstamp, which all pistols after 2013 had to have to be added. The whole thing was shady from the start. It got 'approved' as a 'safe' handgun on the roster very quickly. The importer in LA had a business address that was just some apartment mailbox in like North Hollywood. It was the Oak Tree gun club just outside LA along I5 that was going to demo them. Had banners and stuff set up quickly too.
Then, it all just fell apart and this thing went away.
This is literally the first time I've thought of this thing in years.
Every single thing about California's "safe" roster is not merely shady, but blatantly illegal by intent. The goal is to eventually ban guns, and CA does every single gun control measure it can think of in hopes of achieving that. If nothing else, they will try to confuse people so much that they will just give up out of inability to get permits or just worry that they might accidentally violate a system of laws so complex no one can understand it.
"The whole thing was shady from the start. It got 'approved' as a 'safe' handgun on the roster very quickly."
Probably has something to do with the gun being a Trojan horse invented by Marxists to chip away at the 2nd Amendment?
I wouldn't be surprised if other manufacturers killed the deal.
"Continuing to do business with your firm is posing serious brand risk for our company. We will be re-evaluating our relationship with your firm."
Imagine being a range and a chunk of your suppliers are calling you and giving you veiled threats along those lines. You're gonna blink.
Microstamping is literally the dumbest thing. All firearms already leave unique firing pin marks. Also, figuring out a firearm used in a crime 98% of the time doesn't push a case along at all. Since most crime firearms are used in so many crimes that you can't pinpoint them to any specific individual. Classic Spartacus defense.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeew a californian. go away before you can ruin the world further.
Despite its obvious shortcomings I'm actually pretty keen on the visual design lines of this pistol. It looks like it'd have been a sidearm in a mid-2000's sci-fi FPS like DOOM 3 or F.E.A.R.
Maybe if they released this same pistol with the same design (LEDs and all) but minus the electronic connection doohickeys they could capitalize on the whole 15 of us out there who like the look of this thing.
Looks like a futuristic Mauser HSC / H&K HK4.
I feel like they should change the caliber, too. Maybe like a doublestack .25 acp, or maybe even a .380?
@@beelz5932 Yeah, make it 9mm, nix the electronic lock, and just have the sick LED's, maybe magazine indicator? Green for full, yellow for half, flashing red for empty, and I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Actually, they could keep the electronic lock (maybe) and just remove the watch. Like, opening the lock is just a matter of activating the grip safety as a way to make it almost totally drop-safe. There's a lot they _could_ do, but the thing is only ever really going to be a novelty, which is going to make companies shy away from building something like it.
i love the look XD
How am I not surprised by New Jersey coming into this story as an obstacle…
OHHH Hey that’s a nice lookin gun ya got there, be a shame if something were to happen to it
It’s the Rosemary’s Baby of California and New York.
@@STRAKAZulu here i am squeezed into SE PA that is like a fish tank in the desert
@@loger_2floofyboogaloo278 PA is better than both NY and NJ imo you can actually exercise your Second Amendment rights and not be thrown in jail for defending yourself
@@jacobt1027 even if you're black?
An obvious flaw is that if 2 people are struggling over the gun, the owner's watch may well be close enough even if the other person has got the gun in their hand.
or if you hold a magnet near the side of the gun, it can still fire.
@@Shawn_the_Protogen I guess that's why everybody who gets into a hand to hand fight always also carries a magnet around?
And on the part with 2 people struggling over the gun... might be just me, but if somebody would try to do that, the owner of the gun could just move his hand away, perhaps behind his back or something. And while the other guy wonders why the gun does not fire, give him a good kick to the family jewels...
@@michaellehner3339 yeah, cause that's what you want to do in a wrestling match with life or death consequences... Tie one hand behind your back.
Also, it makes it impossible to shoot with whatever hand isn't wearing the watch... Kind of a big deal for defensive shooting.
@@michaellehner3339 Ok, so what happens when you end up using your watch hand as a barrier/restraint between you and the bad guy, and are holding the gun in your other hand? Or your watch hand is pinned in a grapple, and again the gun is in your left? Or your watch hand get injured and you cannot physically lift it up in range with the gun? I guess you just hip-fire in that scenario? There are a million scenarios (and the reason people train with their non-dominant hand) where this is a really dumb concept.
"Put ammo, gun work". Ian you're such a poet, so articulate lol. Excellent video, as always. Keep up the outstanding work.
@@smorrow It almost certainly was a dig, but those sorts of people aren't worth arguing with. I'm more concerned about "electronics in guns => one more thing that can get broken". It's probably better to use a small safe and/or a keyed trigger lock when keeping it at home. As for an actual shooting situation, I can't think of anything other than keeping distance and drawing more quickly, which is highly dependent on the circumstances but is at least a lot cheaper and less mechanically complex than this...thing.
@@HappyMrSandbag Precisely. Well concealed secure safe, and most importantly everyone getting drilled into firearm safety from the youngest possible age.
If memory serves there was a presentation at the DEF CON conference around 2017 by the research who found a number of attacks. One involved jamming the communications link to the watch which was around 916 MHz, and another involved spoofing the hammer block with a permanent magnet. It wouldn't surprise me if the video of that talk was on the DEF CON RUclips channel.
It's really funny how many security features the guys at Def Con can break just using a magnet.
In Germany Armatix basically (unsuccessfully) lobbied the government to make a law to make this thing mandatory, which is why they were hated with a passion by the German gun community. I hope everybody involved in this went broke.
Another comment from a German viewer said that they liquidated their last assets this year, so woot woot.
It's actually kind of a bummer that we can't have something like this because people rightfully distrust the government.
@@jonathanschubert9052 Not a bummer at all.
@@jonathanschubert9052 You don't know anything about guns. NOBODY wants this, all about this concept is a terrible idea.
@@jonathanschubert9052 Well even with all the control mumbo jumbo, it sounds more like a boutique novelty than anything. Like I'm pretty sure someone in security wouldn't want this just for the unreliability it brings in compared to the benefit.
I'd rather see coilguns and railguns getting good before smartguns, because they could bring something far better to the table
Armatix is a very infamous company among the German gun scene, because it was involved in legal movements requiring heirs of family member's firearms to obtain devices (designed and invented primarily by Armatix) to temporarily deactivate or block the firearm. Without the Armatix' intervention it is very unlikely that German laws would nowadays include the 'deactivation requirement' for the afforementioned owner group, as this owners did not represent any kind of public danger to anyone in the past (in Germany you also need a permit to buy ammunition, that was not issued to the heirs unless they were registered sport shooter or hunters, with both cases making the blocking device obsolete).
The last remains of Armatix have been liquidated earlier this year, with some members of the gunsmiths' association taking over the service (mostly removal) for the blocking devices for the future.
People being allowed to keep guns they inherited without having a license for them already was a very exceptional case in Europe and would likely have been overruled after some time even without the actions of armatix.
So in a way their locking devices might have been the only thing that ensured that people keep the right to own inherited guns.
For example here in Austria people have to immediately surrender any inherited semi automatic weapons or handguns to the police as soon as they get them and only have 6 months to acquire the necessary license to keep them in their possession. After that they loose any right to these guns and don’t get any financial compensation (which is sad since many older gun owners have quite rare and valuable guns).
However manually repeating rifles don’t have to be surrendered and only require registration within 6 months.
The procedure for category A weapons (generally banned and need a special license to own) depends on the specific type of gun. People can rather easily get permits to keep inherited pumpguns, but getting the permit to keep full auto guns is very unlikely if you aren’t already a registered collector.
The point that people can’t buy ammunition is kinda lacking, as they could always just come to Austria and buy rifle ammunition or reloading components for pistol ammo without a license.
However I totally agree that it’s absurd to treat these people as if they were a danger to anyone and think that the laws in both our countries are absurd and should be repealed.
We had this thing with crossing the borders just a few months ago, but whatever you buy on the other side (here Austria), might not be legal to bring back home. Therefore I only refer to legal actions as criminals do not obey laws.
You are right in the conclusion, that laws in both our countries need a review towards a greater degree of freedom.
@@franzk.ronellenfitsch795 may be technically true that "criminals do not obey laws," however tons of people accidentally break laws allllll the time. or, in my country at least, disagree with them so strongly they are sure they are not vallid :'^) (see: jan 6)
Yup, I remember that. Called them names like "Arschmatix" (Axxmatix) and such things. And at last their locking system was defeated by simply pouring water into the barrel, put it in a freezer and then a few mild strikes with a hammer and it was removed without damaging the barrel. Or tools you can get at every hardware store.
Unfortunatly in German:
ruclips.net/video/B-QyJ5UCFz0/видео.html
@@pandacat17 Did you really just bring up January 6th as an example of not following laws instead of the two years of violent riots we had?
2:15 is the reason I've heard for why older S&W pistols had a magazine safety. In a close-in fight, if the officer felt he might lose control of his pistol, just hit he mag release and stop fighting over the gun.
Thanks for the Feedback, Expect more videos soon.
Send a Directly massage👆👆
I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU 🎁👆👆. ,..
The safety being on the trigger is one of the most unsafe features I've seen.
Yeah haha. "Let me just put this thing on safe." *proceeds to finger fuck the trigger*
Angry Glock noises
*Nervous laughs in no-safety SIG P320.
but that's an incredibly common place for a safety?
The electronic safety seems like it could be defeated by a magnet
Would be interesting to see how long it would take the Lockpicking Lawyer to get past it
Somebody has literally done exactly that lol, look up hacked smart gun
Battery, wire, Asco valve...done.
@@RustyShackleford556 yeah, found it 👍
Looks like they guy was about five years ahead of me lol
@@CachingCadre I'm curious as to your method there
Just pushing a magnet against the side of the gun does indeed work as I figured
@@347Jimmy I was just thinking electromagnet..that is essentially what an Asco valve is. So you trigger it on or off to supply the magnetic force to bypass the lockout.
A regular magnet works just fine, but I was playing with the idea of Tim Taylor's more power. Lol.
"One would presume a toddler would not be authorized, and thus couldn't pull the trigger"
Dont tell me how to parent, Ian.
Plus the other issue with that EtronX rifle was apparently the ATF refused to let Remington put that system in a semi auto rifle, as they said it could be simple to reprogram it to be full auto
Ah, I use my programmer skills to physically change the entire selective fire system via USB lmao
Isn't it the same thing with almost any semi-automatic? Just need to dremel a bit of metal off the trigger action.
@@kovona well in this case you wouldn't need to physically change anything. Again that's allegedly why they never introduced a semi auto rifle with the EtronX trigger system
@@Terran994 Isn't the Etron an analog electrical system? I imagine some soldering would had been needed to make it automatic.
@@kovona couldn't say. You can look it up. The idea is it uses electric primers in the ammo. Instead of a firing pin slamming into the primer like a traditional gun, these use a small electric charge to set it off. Military has been using these in stationary weapons. In the rifle, this means the trigger can be like glass, no hard trigger pull, makes the gun more accurate. The only time this has been tried on the commercial market is with a bolt action rifle, and in the past i have read the ATF was the reason they never made this system in a semi auto. Never actually shot one, so i can't say.
What's funny is if the USB attachment ever got released people would have jailbroken it within minutes. Hell I'm not entirely convinced it can't be jailbroken as it is now.
The design forcing me to wear a watch on my strong hand is just... completely unforgivable.
I suspect they meant for it to be fired with a 2 handed grip, so the watch could be on the usual wrist.
Left hand shooter and lefty watch wearer, I got this.
@@Sk1m_Beeble i feel for you watches, you must beat the hell out of them
@@Andrew-ps6xe true but the manuel shows the gun and the watch on the same limb.
@@GreenBlueWalkthrough it could probably be worn on ones off-hand wrist if firing with both hands, but not being able to fire with your strong hand only could definitely be detrimental. At first I thought the pic on the manual was just like that for the purpose of displaying the watch but I would say it would be best to wear it on the wrist of your strong hand. However I’ll just stick to my Glock Walther or Sig and regular watch.
If the LockPickingLawyer has taught me anything is that, with rare exceptions, weapon safes, locks, and security devices (both mechanical and electronic) are no better than a zip tie.
Moat people won't have that skill, and those that do aren't the main thing you're trying to avoid with gun safes and the like.
The mighty ziptie, a Bubba's favorite. Then followed by hoseclamps and electric tape.
You're not wrong, but in a high risk situation where something like this or even biometrics could easily make the difference between life and death, it becomes extremely valuable and as a previous reply mentioned, most will not have the skills to overcome these kinds of safeguards and even someone did, almost certainly not very quickly.
I think biometrics would be a better solution than the over-engineered watch solution on display here that operates on proximity; an attacker would need only remain in close proximity to fire the weapon.
Biometrics are significantly more simple to implement and would be exceptionally more functional, in my opinion.
@@WingMaster562 Wrong order. You forgot Duct Tape and Bailing wire before you get into actual mechanical fasteners.
@@radicalraccoon the issue with bio-metrics is repeatability, more so than spoofing, a company would have to put the sensor in a place that any persons digit would hit within the margin of error of the sensor 100% of the time, and that's no easy feat taking into account how much peoples hand sizes differ, how people grip it, how people place their finger on a trigger, and how the same person changes grip and finger placement over time and in stressful situations. I wonder if an implanted ultra low power short range RFID implant would be better
Love how this guy clearly explains everything everytime. He's a great teacher!
"Help! There is an intruder in the house!"
"Tell him to wait honey. I need to sync my gun to my watch!"
If memory serves, one huge problem with sales of this concept gun is that the watches and guns were only available separately. Thus, the pair would cost $2,500.00 to $3,000.00. Trusting batteries was also a concern, not just Luddism.
Remington's Etronix also had cost problems. Varmint shooters are mostly reloaders and the Etronix primers were significantly more expensive than standard primers. So, fear of system/battery failure at critical moments wasn't the only problem with Etronix.
That remington Etronix was a cooler design, than this kraut space gadget.
I think etronix would be helpful in bullpup designs. Eliminating the trigger linkage and the need for a hammer or striker in the back of the gun could really help the concept.
Yeah... A critical moment when you might miss a varmint...
The high cost can easily be attributed to production scale.
Of course they’re gonna cost a fortune in small batches. However, if mass produced, they would be much cheaper because of economics of scale.
After all, the infrastructure to produce electrical primers by the millions is there, and very active. It’s just that these primers are for automatic cannons like the 20mm Vulcan, found on most US fighter aircraft, the Phalanx CIWS, and the related Centurion C-RAM.
@@ben501st
I remember reading years ago of a custom bullpup that used an electronic trigger to eliminate said linkage.
Yup, I remember this abomination. I also remember how some reviewers at the time said it was pretty busted with the sights and the entire need to "pre-program" it when you wanted to use the pistol before it would even fire thus making the entire design itself not suitable for anything more than a range pistol, and just not a very good one at that.
Also, look at the New Jersey law very carefully...it exempts law enforcement from the requirement to have a "smart gun". Gee, now why is *that*?
They want the yeomanry to carry arms and you peasants to be cut down.
It really spits in the entire concept of police. They were invented in Britain to avoid the army using the only skill they have, kill- and created a specifically unarmed police force, in a period where the populace were armed. If you shot one you would of course be hanged from the neck and the guarantee they were unarmed meant that they were relatively better protected. they also specifically only policed by consent of the community - this still happens to some degree today... when it suits them. Still, the only difference between police and army watchmen are arms greater than a truncheon. They are meant to have no special rights, they are meant to be civilians.
So, the very people it was initially designed for are the only ones not required to have it. Lol.
@@Sk1m_Beeble Every single state that restricts the people, they exempt the police.
Just look into why police in CA aren't required to use pistols not certified as "safe" by the state of CA.
Oh yeah, totally get the message clearly. Well...the core reason may simply be, because such a law could not gain enough support *without* a law enforcement exemption. I mean politicians tend to be *very* protective of law enforcement institutions for all of the predictable reasons.
But if we're really being honest here, creating a law *requiring* gun dealers to sell exclusively smart guns is a fantastic way to drive away the majority of merchants and so really, likely the single best way to ensure no one ever dares to market them in your state.
Hey I’m really not sure
I remember that in the 70's Popular Mechanics published an article about a magnetic safety that could be installed on S&W revolvers that was activated with a ring, and that basically "worked" for exactly the same thing as this gun, and in the same way it was not something that worked somehow
That was the “Magna-Trigger”, which is proven technology, and can still be installed on K, L, and N frame S & W revolvers by Tarnhelm Supply Co.
@@russellbuonasera4786 Thanks for the info, I didn't know it was still for sale. If it really works, it must be a better solution than this gun, why won't it be more popular?
@@oscargustavoarcosruiz8793, well, it’s pretty expensive. The only guns it is available for are the S & W revolvers I mentioned, and the Ruger Security Six...which has been out of production for decades. It doesn’t meet the legislative definition of a “smart gun”, because-like the German design in the video-it’s useable by anyone who has the ring and the handgun. But mostly because additional safety devices that seem like “good ideas” to politicians and legislators are viewed with great skepticism by gun owners. At least that’s my take on the issue.
The device that I am working on right now works the same way for Glocks...
“You have reached Armatix Technical Support. If this is an emergency, hang up and call 911.”
I think the color scheme here is what you would commonly see in industrial stack lights -- red is typically seen in "emergency stop" conditions where the machine is inoperable, green is "normal operation", and blue is "external intervention required", like when you need to load something (e.g., a magazine... of tools, not .22 rounds).
Red means 'danger' and green means 'safe' in all cases. The fact that they are buttons however is very different to lights. On a machine with lights red is still danger and green is safe, so that does not hold.
Yeah when I was new to guns this really confuzed me. Por common people "red" means stopped, not working, broken. Its like trafic lights - we used it even in work. Problem - red light. Sort of working/pending - yellow, green - OK. Even in English there is a frase "You have a green light - meaning you are good to go" Same with car dashboard signs - green are informational, yellow potentialy bad, red - stop the car.
You are correct. Emergency stop buttons are always red, green is to start.
@@danielsmullen3223 You really do not have your facts straight. In stack lights red represents fault and signifies a danger. It is a life saving warning with many industrial machines, it does NOT mean it is safe- very much the opposite. Green means it is operating safely. I'm not sure what is confusing about that.
@@blueoval250 The buttons work in reverse because they are input methods. You are telling the device it is danger or safe. He is referring to the stack lights which show red when a danger is present, and green when operating safely. He is mistaken in the belief green means operating and red means not operating, however this is far from the case. He would mistakenly assume it is safe to approach a machine that has had a dangerous failure.
It makes sense to me for the LED to be that way, it doesn't look like it's meant to be a safety indicator. The safety is on the trigger itself, as you showed.
This LED is rather an "authorized" (green) / "unauthorized" (red) indicator. Like an On/Off indicator on an electronic device. That's how I see it.
Given that it likely doesn't have a "round in chamber" detector, your reasoning makes sense.
@@Stevarooni it does detect if the mag is out, but yeah, that's not helpful if there's still a round chambered
The colours definitely seem to follow the standard RFID system "green = unlocked, red = locked"
Yeah. Green means GO. Red means NO...
It´s pretty much like traffic lights. Green = go, Red = no go.
@@andreasmuller4666 No, Red means 'Danger', Green means 'Safe' in both cases.
The Forgotten Weapon that couldn't be forgotten fast enough.
A better solution would be some sort of glove that physically interfaces with the grip, meaning that you could simply power it with one battery in the glove.
or just not doing it at all
The problem with electronics is, they fail. They fail for a myriad of reasons. When, not "if", the electronics fail, your gun becomes a very expensive paperweight.
I've repaired electronics from the 70s easily, these are not super complex devices like a computer or even a 90s PDA.
Cross bar lock trigger safety is somehow the weirdest thing here
as if it needed more excuses to not work!
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine It’s a simple and practical way to fulfill a requirement on what’s essentially a prototype.
But it does make the Glock trigger dingus look like a Swiss watch
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine you overengineer you get shit. You use something simple that works now you're lazy. Can't win these days.
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine as Ian repeatedly says in the video, the entire point of this model was a tech demo for the RFID system
Many aspects of the design (esp the sights) show this
Air Arms airguns use the same system.
I loved hearing the weird legal considerations about this. I think I remember seeing it on something like the Discovery or History channel, but then I never heard anything more about it. Thanks for the video!
About a decade ago, I recall reading an article about this pistol on a NRA site, and how it could be hacked with a cellphone. Of course, this could be yet another example of them claiming a rumor qualifies as actual news. Now seeing Ian disassembling the pistol, the notion of a person "hacking" this pistol during a gunfight seems even more comical.
Ian, you have amazing timing! I just bought one of these last week on a wim and picked it up today. I knew nothing about it before this video. Thanks for the info! I'm now really happy I picked up this unique piece of history!
I'm pretty sure this gun was "hacked" by a magnet and I'm guessing someone could easily force the block to be permanently moved to allow firing without authentication.
Yeah, used a magnet to defeat the electro-magnet in the gun. Wired reported on it in 2017: ruclips.net/video/ANllOmgJH9Y/видео.html
you would be correct
The locked gun racks in police vehicles can also be easily "hacked" with a magnet, still better than nothing
Yep, because criminals typically carry stacks of magnets "just in case"........
@@LittleRabbit1138 >forget to either charge wrist battery or gun battery or clear safety on watch
>thief shoots you and steals your gun
>looks it up on the internet
>thief has fully functional gun after maybe 5min google search and a fridge magnet
so useful so secure, look ma i need to swipe right to use my gun
“Hey bro want to go to the range?”
“Sorry man I forgot to charge my gun.”
Just like with the rail guns Ian's been covering recently... Nothing, it seems, is new 😄
The idea of the gun reminds me to the movie The Judge, the anime Psycho Pass or even Metal Gear 4 with those ID weapons. Imagine also if you could use today technology like the one on the smart watches and register your biometric data as a lock for the gun for your personal use.
With this gun being nearly a decade old, I don't see that out of the realm of possibility; however, this new jersey law seems to be shackling any further development (at least in the U.S.). That all being said, I could easily see this electromagnet system being adapted to an AR or Glock platform. But then again, it's easy for me to say this in a youtube comment section, versus actually building one.
Smart gadgets are also a great demonstration of why "smart" gun technology would be bad at doing anything it aims to do. Like, I am pro-gun-control, but this kind of technological solution is never going to be an actual solution for the same reason nobody will ever be able to make truly bulletproof armour: somebody else will build a bigger gun.
Registering my biometric data with a corporation sounds like a dystopian nightmare I’m not gonna lie
@@fort809 Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that already happens, look at fingerprint phone locks, facial recognition in Apple products, or even the old school way of getting fingerprinted (which I had to do to get a job in a public school district).
I think it would also be cool and useful if they figured out a way for the watch to keep track of ammo left in the mag.
What an excellent video. Ian is simply the best guntuber out there. Could listen to him all day.
mentioning armatix is how you get your local shooting club riled up here in germany, they tried to push for legislation to make their shit mandatory
Bruh, lmao.
This is amazing. It shattered all of my preconceived notions. This is way worse of an idea than I had thought. And the bar was already pretty low.
The firearm wasn’t intended to be your trustworthy, go to survival/ self defense weapon. Its chambered in 22, takes triple A batteries, and was meant to be a demonstration of potential advancements. Its a joke of a gun in terms of effectiveness. And if someone already had a collections of dozens of firearms in many calibers, why not add a new futuristic piece to the collection just for fun?
The thing that always fascinated me about firearms, is the self contained nature of the system. No gas, no batteries. Just stable components. K.i.s.s. is a mantra in the firearms community for a reason.
Whenever Ian has a moral dilemma this gun appears on his right shoulder and the Zip 22 appears on his left
Everyone knows this gun came to be as a direct result of the movie Judge Dredd😂
Double Whammy!
I remember when these things were in the news, and there was a lot of talk about how this technology could benefit firearm safety. That is, until it was found relatively soon after that holding a magnet to the side of the pistol could defeat the RFID security system. Now I understand how that was done!
Yeah because we all know locks are 100% worthless unless they are 100% invulnerable.
@@drworm5007 no they just can have a very simple and obvious flaw that renders them useless
@@samuelw4492 if the threat model is "toddler finds the gun and pulls the trigger" this absolutely doesn't render it useless. Same if the threat model is "guy in a hand-to-hand scuffle grabs your gun" - generally randos aren't going to have a magnet they can hold in the exact right place in that situation.
@@vonschlesien there’s a portion of criminals that carry around handcuff Keys I don’t see why it would be unreasonable to have a 1x1 magnet in you pocket. As for children you can just put your normal firearm in a small locked case and you don’t have to introduce all the reliability issues this product has
But most importantly why would such a huge flaw be overlooked this company and the inventor himself obviously put a fair amount of money and effort into designing and producing this product why wouldn’t they fix the most glaring design flaws it shows a lack of quality
@@samuelw4492 Oh absolutely this thing is an absolute piece of crap.
But any security system or lock is going to have flaws, and the existence of those flaws doesn't mean the security measures are useless. (And, given the number of actual accidents with children getting hold of guns even today, an on-by-default security system would be helpful!)
I'm impressed by how each video starts exaclyt the same since like ... 6 years or so? I really love it
Regarding the LEDs, my guess is they implemented the same logic as...traffic lights: green means go, red means stop...blue means *shrugs*
Listening to Ian talk about stories of guns are just so fascinating. I really love how well you explain this information
Just an interesting note, the 2002 law that Ian talks about in the beginning of the episode actual got redone in 2019 and changed on this issue. Now once the state approves a smart gun, each gun seller must have at least one model of smart gun for sale and have a sign about the benefits. A much better way of pushing the tech forwards without some of the unintended consequences.
Still makes zero sense though and if they actually cared about the tech, they'd fund it personally. lol
@@bertblue9683 the fact government even exists this day in age is overreach as the sole reason for there existence just like religion is for one group of people to control another
You mean a more effective means of fascism
@@Sunrie If you think an advertisement about Gun safety is a step towards fascism, then you are part of the problem
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine a stock of 1, then when someone actualy buys it, then restock
The grip filling up with new batteries is hands down the best feature, LOL. I got a kick out of that. I mean I think there's some merit to the idea but hard pass on this particular route of getting there. I can see a headline reading 'cops got there in time but their weapons ultimately failed to fire' or something off the wall like that. I do see how the red light/green light thing might pair well with road rage, LOL. Cool video sir! :)
@@smorrow That's it right there! :)
In '95 or 6 can't remember, my class went to Smith and Wesson in Springfield for a tour. One of the guys there pulled a prototype safe gun out of his desk and showed it to us. I don't remember if it had a watch or ring thing. Even as a kid I didn't like the idea and I'm glad I've never seen it since.
One of the James Bond movies featured a 'smart gun', which incidentally went stupid just in time to get a Bad Guy killed.
Another 'proprietary' feature was the MagnaTrigger, which made an appearance in the '90s. The idea was to have a block in the gun that was operated by a ring on the shooter's hand; no electronics, just magnets. Massad Ayoob wrote about it, and even mentioned using one for his HD gun.
This is also where external safties can come in handy: They can delay an adversary's use of one's own gun long enough for the owner to take corrective action. Mas has documented a number of cases where this has saved a police officer's life--even a mag safety!
The MagnaTrigger is actually still around and being sold... mostly to old dudes who think the wheelgun is the pinnacle of defensive handguns, but still - it's on the market.
The James Bond version worked exactly as it was supposed to. Bad Guy doesn't have Bonds palm print, so when he tries to shoot Bond with it it doesn't work. Then he gets eaten by a Komodo Dragon. I love Bond movies :D
The Magna-Safety looks like it's still available
@@hothoploink1509 Good point.😎 I edited my comment.
@@TexasSpectre Thanks! I had not heard anything about them since Mas wrote about them.
Another concept for the "Smart Gun" Was to have the Officers gun inoperable unless the dispatcher enables it. Police Unions passionately opposed the concept of the smart gun because Officers would find themselves unarmed in the middle of a gunfight.
That sounds like some Judge dredd/cyperpunk type of crap. That idea is still way too advanced and kind of dumb to work.
You guys should watch the Watchmen series recently out. This is in that show
Some law enforcement agencies, especially ATF, should have this kind of system in place. Would save a lot of dogs.
Police making sure /nothing/ gets between them and the power to take life.
@@vokovom-u9332 The advanced nature of the idea has no bearing on the phenominal stupidity of the "idea".
"Gun with a USB port"
Would love to have seen news reports of people jailbreaking it.
The novelization of Logan's Run had the same idea for the Sandman's sidearm. At one point Logan has to toss his gun away because he's a runner and the gun starts having a fit.
Battery compartment pin is held in place by the magazine? So in other words there's a chance the pin will fall out during magazine changes, brilliant.
The backstrap is under spring pressure and the pin is a tight fit, so friction should be enough to keep it in place.
The flaps on the magazine just cover the pin so it can’t be accidentally dislocated when carrying the gun.
Great video. No mention of the price, which with the watch was over $2K, a steep price for an especially crappy shooter. The time-out function means the gun is useless for home defense unless criminals give you advance warning. Would've liked a discussion of the guy who hacked the gun. He discovered that the Armatix had an RF back door, meaning someone else could control the gun. He also found a way to circumvent the "smart" function with a magnet. The NJ law exempted law enforcement...big surprise.
Without the back door, the timed pincode was probably intended to stop anyone stealing the watch from unlocking the gun, while allowing the owner to enter the pin only in the privacy of his home, office or car. Still a long time for a stolen gun to remain hot.
Since it queries the watch if it may fire, a simple radio transmitter on the right frequency can block the communication and the gun won't get the "go ahead"
See SimpliSafe's alarm systems, where the easily installed sensors (as they talk wirelessly with the main unit) could (can? Don't know if they've fixed this) be blocked from telling the main unit that they'd been tripped, by using a $3 keyfob radio remote...
It's funny to me when anti-gun people who usually distrust the police (for good reason) are so happy to entrust them with all the guns in the states, as well as firearms ownership & conceal carry exemptions.
@@michaeltempsch5282 a simple 'microwave gun' can do the same without even knowing the frequency
@@dutch4260 nothing's more entertaining then asking a white middle class liberal type why they support banning guns when they just said police are violent occupiers. In my experience it usually results in them changing their stance on things after a good long think.
When your smart gun is like: "I'm sorry, [registered owner]. I'm afraid I can't do that."
I'm of a couple minds on this.
First, I care more about my guns working while they're in my possession than I do about them not working in someone else's possession. Anything that could prevent me from shooting the gun when I need to defend myself is a feature that potentially gets me killed. When you add in electronics, there are all sorts of problems: power failures, program bugs, false negatives, etc. Not to mention that in the above examples, you wouldn't necessarily stop someone from shooting it. If the watch is near enough the gun, it would still be able to go off (i.e. hand-to-hand situation). The watch could be stolen with the gun.
(There's also the fear that you get guns that are part of the Internet Of Things and then the government can shut them down on you).
Second, I think in this political climate, laws like the NJ one that SEEM well-intentioned would actually hurt gun owners. Gun owners should be allowed to purchase what they think is best, and be responsible for their guns in the way they think is best. If a child gets access to their guns and negligently cause undue harm, the owner should be held accountable. If they use their guns to cause undue harm, they should be held accountable. But the features of the tool should be up to the owner, not the government.
I wouldn't personally buy them. And their existence threatens the rights to guns I would want. If the political climate were not so anti-gun, then I would be more accepting of the technology.
Windows 10 could give you a blue screen of literal death with this gun.
i'm sad they never released that firmware update port, a "tactical underbarrel USB port" sounds like a wacky idea, i'd love to see it!
Looked like it'd be easy enough to make your own for it. A 3D printer and a usb pigtail with a contact patch would do it.
"Tactical flash drive" with 128gb of space for furry porn, to be discovered and catalogued as evidence by first responders when they find your body after a robbery gone wrong
@@sakelaine2953
Would be pretty hard to find the drivers, though.
1:14
I can already see how it goes wrong if someone tries to use it to defend, only to realise that they forgot the damn watch at home.
I think something like this would be a great idea..maybe with a lot more research and tests! So many possibilities! Very interesting review Ian!
no smart guns are a very very bad idea because the end result is metal gear solid 4 and nobody wants that
Here's something they didn't think of. Ian didn't mention it either. If you're right handed you wear your watch on your left wrist and lefties wear their watches on the right wrist. With this system you'd have to wear the watch on the "wrong" wrist for it to work.
Only if you're shooting one handed. Take a two handed grip and the watch will be close enough (10" | 25 cm) to activate the gun even from the "wrong" wrist. Still, not everybody wants to always shoot two handed -- so you're right that that is another annoyance with the gun.
@@ChristopherHallett I was about to say the same. Nobody told me to wear the watch on my left wrist, so once I started wearing one I naturally put it on the right. Now my muscle memory is locked to my right wrist and even if I wanted to I would have trouble sticking it on my left.
@@ChristopherHallett I tried wearing my watch on my left wrist, like Ian I'm afflicted with wronghanditis, a few years ago and it felt so wrong but I'd spent 40 years wearing it the "right" way.
@@ChristopherHallett You heathen.
@@TheWickedWizardOfOz1 HEATHENS!!!!!
Law to make smart guns mandatory once they're available for sale - ensures no smart gun will ever be sold.
Congratulations on upholding the standard of competence expected of you, government.
once i understood the implication i had a laughting fit. i cant believe this, america never change
Although I fully agree with your government expectations, it must be said that the gun lobbies had a strong hand is creating this policy. Of course, the gun lobby didn't want any sort of law like this, but when "safe" smart gun technology was in the media, they felt that from a marketing standpoint, they had to support it. Once they were forced by public pressure to support a new law, they did everything they could to make the law convoluted and unreasonable for any gun shop to follow (so the owner didn't bother).
Remember, if it costs money, in any way prevents the firearm from getting into a consumers hand as fast as possible, or requires any level of government oversight, the gun lobbies have bottomless buckets of cash to make sure it never happens.
@@delphic464 you could say the same about terminating unborn children, except one is meant to be constitutionally protected.
People should be able to buy "smart guns" if they want. In fact I see the benefits they offer. However, I see much greater risks of oppression if they are mandated.
@@jamescollier9196 Just out of curiosity, if the system is purely a 1-1 hardware function, just 'authenticate with another object on your person', how is that a risk of oppression? A lot of people here keep going on about it, but it's not like there's ANY suggestion that this gun would require some form of remote access or authentication that could be affected by an outside source. I mean, that would DEFINTELY ruin it for any sort of defensive use, and I'm assuming every manufacturer under the sun is at least smart enough to recognize that.
"Can't shoot, my 4G is really bad here."
I remember seeing this on Dateline or some other prime time news program as a kid in the 90's, and now I know the name for it. This is a very good deep-cut, Ian. And- just like a lot of these other commentors agree, is a perfect example of a forgotten weapon.
I want the watch to play the James Bond theme like those Casio watches back in the 1980s when the weapon is good to fire
Okay here's the main problem with smart guns: They're the anti-thesis to the principle that a gun should be ready the moment you pick it up. You know safety off, cocked/charged/round in chamber.
You shouldn't have to go through all this security doohicky crap just to fire your gun in an emergency.
Can't really think of a good use for these things.
Best just to be safe with normal guns, you know the ones that are ready right when you pick them up.
Smart guns: Welcome to a world where when your watch battery dies, so do you!
Some food for concern: If you said RFID, I was imediatly thinking what you could do with those with some knowledge and a laptop. Like remote shutting a bunch of them down.
First off, high quality content as always Ian, and thanks for not changing up the format too much over the years, your channel reminds us of the "old days" of RUclips and the Net, and it's a major part of the appeal.
Secondly, this gun is what happens when people who hate civilian gun ownership design a gun. Although officially designed with ensuring only LEOs and other "authorized users" could fire the gun, it was in fact designed to ensure "authorized users" could be "deauthorized" and effectively disarmed at the push of a button, either actively by RFID interference/scrambling, or a "firmware update" that de-authenticates one or more users, or passively by requiring "firmware updates at authorized locations" after an allotted amount of time in order to "remain authorized", and of course, battery/system failure and inability to obtain replacements during some "crisis", like "civil unrest", or an Event 201 type plandemic perhaps..
The first massive indication of this is the watch-based RFID. In most instances disarmed LEOs have been shot while still physically entangled with the criminal or in very close proximity, and in many of those cases the criminal would still be able to discharge this weapon because of the gun's proximity to the watch, rendering the stated purpose of this system fatally flawed - because it was never the primary intent at all. In fact, if someone has left their gun in reach of a toddler or any other "unauthorized person", chances are the watch was also left nearby.
The second indication is in what they did NOT do - there is no part of this system that associates authorization with identity. In other words, the system does not care WHO you are, only that it receives a code. This speaks directly to the contempt which these people have for "gun rights", and is actually a direct violation of the 2A, because the system does not recognize you as an individual, nor your "right to bear arms", and this is by design. Were a system to be developed that, without fail, would identify you personally by some biometric(s), and authorize you SOLELY based on your identity, with NO ability to refuse your ability to use it under any circumstance in which your identity has been made available to the system, now this MAY could be compatible with the 2A, but that is literally the LAST thing on their minds.
The third, and most compelling indication that this was designed by people with a fervent desire to be able to deauthorize user(s) on a whim, is the fact that it could be so easily overridden with a magnet in place of the electromagnet, or carefully placed snap ring on that plunger for instance, but that unsuspecting, "law-abiding" owners would not know/think to make such modifications, nor would anyone issued the weapon in an official capacity be allowed to without fear of reprimand.
This too, is by design. Why? Can you imagine the media hysteria when it becomes known that all the "smart guns" can be overridden so easily? It would be a "crisis" - which for the gun-grabbing, individual rights-hating, fascist, aggressive-progressive Leftist/Democrats is ALWAYS an opportunity. In states with "smart-gun only' laws, there would be "Emergency Action/Legislation" to compel all owners to turn in the guns for modification/replacement with a "tamper proof system" that even further expanded the tracking/disabling features built in, and on, and on, and on, until finally even THINKING about your gun would trigger an automated police response to your location to "assist" and a psychological evaluation..
These are the same people who "rolled out a new Covid variant".. www.bbc.com/news/uk-64848106
I put NOTHING past them. Absolutely nothing.
The manual lists the "Danger Range!" (including exclamation point) as 1800 meters.
That is quite a feat for a .22 pistol.
That's not an accuracy range. .22lr still move with alacrity and can go some distance.
@@Stevarooni Please provide a single example of a .22 causing any injury at anything approaching 1800 meters since the .22LR was introduced in 1887.
I will wait... because it has never happened.
Also - Using "alacrity" in this context indicates that you are incorrectly using "big words" in an attempt to sound smart.
Footnote:
* if the shooter is currently under way in a fast moving vehicle
@@ritterkeks Like a F-16
@@BatCaveOz Don't need to; nobody cares. The TRAVEL distance of a 22LR is 1800m. The irony of accusing someone else about trying to sound smart. Nobody said injury or death because nobody in the firearms world is dumb (well...) enough to consider anything UNDER the total travel of a bullet as non-dangerous.
Hopefully the range video will involve Ian pretending to wake up, realise he's taken his watch off and put it on the night stand, put it on his wrist upside down because he's still sleepy, presses the wrong buttons and resets the PIN rather than arm the pistol.
Every video Ian thanks us for tuning in, no Ian, than you, thank you for all the videos and content!
Very interesting video. Thank you!
If you listen carefully you can actually hear the german over-engineering this gun represents.
It's not our fault that the rest of the world under-engineers.
@@bcfuerst LOL!
*erika intensifies in background*
@@dravenocklost4253 How do you know?!
Hans they broke Enigma again!
@@bauerfischer3030 go use your norden bombsight
If I remember correctly the entire "smart lock" on this gun can be bypassed with a decent strength magnet placed onto the slide.
@@TheCrusher72 once the police force in your city gets equipped with this thing, I guarantee magnets will suddenly become hot items sold in every gas station.
You have to keep in mind this was still mainly a proof of concept. If more companies joined in, the security of it would obviously be improved and become more tamper resistant.
Imagine a gun refusing to fire more than 1 magazine, then you hear a voice coming from it.
"Please subscribe to our Premium plan for UNLIMITED shots! You can fire again in... Two hours."
Imagine getting a BSOD when someone kicks in your front door wanting to have a struggle snuggle
A (small) point of clarification: The technology formally known as "RFID" to engineers implies one half of the system is a passive component that is energized for a brief time from a fluctuating magnetic field produce by the host. An RFID "chip" never changes the content it broadcasts when energized. This system would be more accurately referred to as an "NFC" (Near Field Communications) technology. Both parts are actively powered and both can change the data that is broadcast during communications which RFID--in its technical definition--can not do. I fully realize we have extended the term "RFID" as more broad term than what it technically describes. RFID is a subclass of (one of many) different NFC techniques.
"An RFID "chip" never changes the content it broadcasts when energized." This is false. Many rfid systems have a rolling or changing bit, and even some that can reflash. However, talking about 99% of them in use, you are correct. Hence why the security of RFID is generraly so poor.
Basically RFID are chips intended as barcode replacement. One of the few full featured uses is to implant them into the ears of cats and dogs to indicate their registration in a nationwide veterinary and insurance database that can be used to return lost pets. That particular use has only worsened public fear that implantation in humans would be purely nefarious. So very few people implant such chips willingly.
NFC is specifically an extended, standardized version of the proprietary 13.5MHz RFID protocols (Mifare, etc) that predate it. Two-way communication and computation on card predate the NFC Forum by several years, and NFC is really more a brand name that says a given RFID device is compliant with the NFC standards. RFID is the generic for radio frequency identification of any kind, much like "serial" is a generic for any serial communications and "USB" is a specific, standardized interface.
In short: New Jersey lawmakers did something dumb that has completely backfired and this pistol was caught up in said stupidity.
not really
I had a cursory look into the story and was bombarded with comments made by _pro-2A_ people essentially calling for _banning smart guns_ via social pressure.
Which is to me just as silly as laws mandating smart guns. Do these people now expect everyone else to ask for their permission before buying guns?
Imagine someone breaking into your home while your gun is updating
"The whole project was memory-holed."
So, you could say this weapon was... forgotten?
It's very interesting that Germany designed a good amount of weapons like the G11, and this pistol that looked so futuristic but they just never took off.
Yes, looks real cool but doesn't work. Perfect for gamers. Actual shooters, not so much.
To be fair, the G11 was a victim of budget cuts and not anything to do with the rifle's design.
@@TexasSpectre I thought it was the fall of the soviet union actually, once there was no enemy next door they didn't need to keep innovating, they also had to stretch the military budget considering that Germany was reunified and required refitting the previous East German army with new standardised equipment. It's a big reason they settled on the much cheaper and more conventional G36 IIRC.
G11 was a victim of politics, it had already been accepted and was about to enter service.
@@LazyLifeIFreak That's what I heard too. But oddly, there's zero information on any type of UBGL for the G-11 - a weapon that was about to enter service.
"Change the batteries on your gun" is something I never thought I'd hear.
watch the etronx Remington video, it's 14 years older than this and also had a battery
Oh get used to that my friend. We're already developing coil technology rapidly. Electricity is going to become part of the gun very soon.
I change the batteries on all my guns with electro-optics every January
@@Turbo.M777 you always have backup iron sights tho.
@@alexm566 You definitely can, but depends on the use case. I have several with no back up irons, and some with.
The led colours are based off the universal traffic light system green means go, red means stop.
For normies like me that just enjoy learning about the engineering of different weapons rather than owning or firing them it makes sense for red to mean no shooty-go-bang-bang so it's a good thing i don't have access to any guns here in Australia.
Hold on criminal let me turn my pistol settings on in my fancy 007 computer watch. If you're still around when I'm finished you will be screwed.
I can see so many technical and security flaws with this setup: neodymium magnet mod, RFID jammer, etc. Not only ideologically it's a questionable product, it's also secured worse than most stupid electronic locks from LPL channel.
All this needs time
Which you don't have if you just took someone's gun
True but you're going to have a hard time designing a gun that can't be turned back into a regular gun by a competent tinkerer, considering a gun doesn't normally need electronics at all so all you have to do is find and defeat the interface between the electronic side and the mechanical side. Even if you went crazy and went with electronic priming like that one Remington rifle or many tank guns and similar pieces, it would become instead a matter of microswitches and batteries instead of sears and checking pawls to produce something that "just works". There is a maxim in the world of information technology security: Physical access to the system is Total access to the system. So the tree of "control of stolen guns" bears very little fruit.
The problem with "smart" gun tech is that if it's simple enough to not prevent the user from using it when needed then it's simple enough that a thief can easily make it work for them. And if it's complex enough that a thief can't make it work for them, then it'll prevent the authorized user from using it to defend either their life or others lives in adverse conditions, even if it's just one time, and be completely useless. There is no perfect solution, but the solution which allows the owner to use their gun without impediment and protect people from harm most easily is the best.
The baseline standard for technology that defeats most thieves is the tumbler lock, a simple technology that has lots of flaws and inherent inconveniences. They can be defeated with a set of picks, or a bump key, or a hammer or crowbar. We still use the stupid things everywhere. The lesson to walk away with is that if it imposes effort to break into for an unauthorized user then you've stopped Pareto's share of the attackers already.
An interesting idea; I like the simplicity of it although it's obviously (as noted many times in the comments) chock full of all kinds of functional and security holes. I do expect that sometime in the future "smart guns" will be standard, but the hurtles that need to be jumped to make them as functional and failure-proof as traditional mechanical firearms are indeed significant and will take many years more R&D to develop to the level they will be accepted by the general public.
But as a demonstrator of an (admittedly woefully inadequate) attempt at this sort of technology, I find this pistol fascinating, and would not mind getting my hands on one. Probably a true "unicorn" simply because of rarity, even if there is little market or collector value associated with them, but still it would be cool to stumble across an example.
Absolutely fascinating, thanks!