Written by Emily Miller via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The first so-called “smart gun” that uses biometrics to unlock to fire will hit the market later this year.
Biofire Technologies announced this month that it is accepting pre-orders for its home defense weapon that aims to prevent unwanted access to children and criminals. This is either a huge step forward in gun safety or a gimmick with unreliable technology, depending on who you ask.
A gun dealer holds a Walther PDP Pro 9mm pistol at Legal Defense in Gainesville, Florida on April 19, 2023. (Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times)
Futuristic gun
Smart guns, also known as personalized guns, have been in development for many years. Biofire Technologies CEO and founder Kai Kloepfer told The Epoch Times in an interview that this is the first “major innovation in how a gun has been designed or manufactured in 50 years.”
Kloepfer, 26, has been working on the design of a smart gun since he was a teenager. “This is a new option for gun owners to give them peace of mind that their kids or criminals won’t get their hands on them.”
The Biofire Smart Gun is a gun that can be stored with fingerprints and 3D facial recognition to unlock it to fire. The company says the unlock works in the dark. Data is stored on the weapon in encrypted form. The weapon can have biometric data for up to five authorized users.
The The Biofire pistol has infrared sensors built into the grip to keep it armed while the user is holding it. As soon as the grip is released, the weapon locks. It’s powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that Biofire says lasts several months with average use and can fire continuously for several hours. The firearm only comes in 9mm caliber, but buyers have multiple color, style and left- or right-handed options.
Kloepfer, who said he owns a lot of regular guns, said his product gives people an option for a “new and better option.”
Reliable technology?
Gun rights groups have been wary that biometrics could work perfectly in self-defense scenarios. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) represents gun manufacturers. Biofire is a member.
“Firearms are tools that people rely on to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones. This requires a firearm to function, as designed, every time,” Mark Oliva, NSSF director of public affairs, told The Epoch Times. “Additional points of failure, including authorized user technology , are concerns for gun owners. If this technology fails, it could be catastrophic for an individual who depends on it to save their life.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) warns that real-life stress is different from product testing.
Read more here…
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