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Moment of Geek: FN Herstal unveils a black box for guns

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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 10:46 AM
Original message
Moment of Geek: FN Herstal unveils a black box for guns
Military and police higher-ups can now see just how many shots a particular weapon fired during the course of a battle or incident. The Register reports that a new black box device designed for rifles and submachine guns could report on ammo usage and weapon jamming, as well as who shot whom at what time.

The new gadget could possibly record details such as where shots were fired and the intended target, and even indirectly finger the identity of the weapon user by using GPS and the weapon's identification number. That would allow individual soldiers to know how many shots they had fired without checking their magazines or ammo if hooked up to a Land Warrior system, and commanders could see if their troops are in danger of running low on ammo. Manufacturers could also know when a weapon might require maintenance, or if a particular gun had troubles such as jamming.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-11/weapons-manufacturer-unveils-black-box-guns
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 10:49 AM
Response to Original message
1. Convergence: Combat becomes more like videogames as videogames become more like real combat. n/t
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dairydog91 Donating Member (520 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 10:54 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. Doesn't this just provide commanders with more battlefield info?
Edited on Tue Nov-17-09 10:55 AM by dairydog91
Might even be a good idea for some police departments to put these in their guns. I wouldn't say it was "like a videogame" unless the system also included a little speaker that announced when the gun had been used to shoot someone (a la "BOOM! Headshot!)
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 11:01 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. Not saying this feature is a bad thing.
Except by tomorrow, Fox "News" will be blaring that Obama wants to put black box recorders on our guns.

In any case, it's fascinating that the army is using videogame interfaces as a model for how to improve combat.
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Euromutt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-18-09 12:15 AM
Response to Reply #4
18. Not just in this respect
I've seen photos of some bomb disposal robots, and the guy operating the robot was holding what was very clearly an XBox controller. And it makes perfect sense that the army would use one; most of the personnel probably know how to work a console controller, so it's easy for them to familiarize themselves with the controls, and you don't have to develop a separate piece of technology, but just write the software to accept commands from the existing device.
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 12:56 PM
Response to Reply #3
10. Some police departments are using a camera that attaches to the picatinny rail
and takes a picture every time they take a shot, or live video when the weapon is unholstered.
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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #10
14. Is this what you're referring to?
Edited on Tue Nov-17-09 02:40 PM by derby378
http://directory.officer.com/product/64585/WILCOX_INDUSTRIES_CORP_Weapon_Video_Display_WVD
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 02:50 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. Nope, smaller unit for handguns.
http://govpro.com/public_safety/military_defense/gov_imp_79259/
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-18-09 08:18 AM
Response to Reply #14
20. I want one for playing paintball! n/t
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HALO141 Donating Member (425 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-18-09 04:43 PM
Response to Reply #3
21. Information Overload. n/t
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 12:55 PM
Response to Reply #1
9. Awesome. I've always wanted the shotgun from Halo II.
Like, would pay real money for. 10 gauge, giant tritium open sights, and an ammo counter. Hell yes.
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TheWraith Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 10:50 AM
Response to Original message
2. I wonder how many thousands of dollars per weapon it costs. nt
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 11:03 AM
Response to Reply #2
5. I'd imagine it could be done for under $1000.
Figure $300 for some kind of cellphone-like communication.
Another $500 for the GPS system.
And add $200 or so for the sensors that detect when the gun's been fired and stuff.

Just so you know, I admit I pulled these numbers out of my ass, so don't touch them with your bare hands.
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TheWraith Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 12:04 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. The problem is minaturization, and the battery.
You can get all those things for that price, but packing them together into that tiny little space with a battery that will run them for 100,000 shots or 10 years? That seems like an excessive amount of power.
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krispos42 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 12:41 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. Maybe they could convert some of the bolt movement into power
It is a reciprocating piston, after all. Some coils of wire, some magnets, some inversion circuitry...


Of course, soldiers spend most of their times carrying, not firing, their guns, so perhaps a small solar panel would be enough to trickle-charge it until it's rock-and-roll time.

Presumebly it would be a Bluetooth connection to the Land Warrior system the soldier is wearing, so it wouldn't necessarily need to have a separate high-powered satellite connection.
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 02:10 PM
Response to Reply #8
13. Ooh! Brilliant! n/t
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Ian David Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #7
12. You get all that stuff minus the GPS when you play laser tag. n/t
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AtheistCrusader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 12:58 PM
Response to Reply #5
11. GPS interface could be a lot less.
The sensor can be had in USB form for as little as 40$, retail. And that's a generic retail bit.

My concern would be around power and reliability, does the weapon work if all this fancy junk stops working? I would imagine so, since it's geared toward the military, and they have very specific priorities in weapons design.
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safeinOhio Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
6. I'm getting me one
for when the kid wants the bullets for the gun on the weekend.
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Euromutt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-18-09 12:20 AM
Response to Reply #6
19. My AR's grip is already occupied
I've got a Samson Field Survivor (http://www.samson-mfg.com/ar-15_html/category/SAMSONFieldSurvivor.html) stashed in mine.
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taurus145 Donating Member (453 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 09:57 PM
Response to Original message
16. I can't wait.
Now there's something new for the anti-gun crowd to demand gun owners have.

Unless I'm on a battlefield or in law enforcement, It's nobody's damn business how much I shoot.

I know. I know. The thing was designed primarily for military use, but I can see the grabbers jumping on this like a duck on a junebug to somehow restrict legitimate recreational shooting.

"Oh! Now we have a way to track the actual number of shots fired and when and where they were fired! Let's make it mandatory for all gun owners to retrofit their evil toys with this magical device."
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Katya Mullethov Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-17-09 11:48 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. for the modular picatinny rail breathalyzer
New , from Surefire !
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