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Smart guns finally arriving in U.S., seeking to shake up firearms market

2 points by sizzle 5y ago

mensetmanusman 5y ago
This technology has an interesting history in the U.S. because even anti-gun groups were against it: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/01/why-both-the-pro--and-anti-gun-lobby-are-against-smart-guns https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/01/why-both-the... The reasoning: if guns were safer, people who normally wouldn’t purchase guns would end up purchasing guns.
- dane-pgp 5y ago
  > people who normally wouldn’t purchase guns would end up purchasing guns. But that's not a problem, is it? Because anti-gun groups aren't against guns per se, just against the harms caused by guns, right? I suppose there is some small percentage of the US population who don't own a gun because they are afraid of their child using it, for example, so they might end up buying one of these smart guns and then, at a later date, using it to commit suicide themselves, whereas without easy access to a gun they might have had a mental health intervention instead. I'm not sure if that group is bigger than the number of lives that would be saved by smart guns replacing non-smart guns (assuming the technology works) though. Anyway, the really interesting questions are what happens if the federal government tried banning non-smart guns. I think a reasonable objection is that this is a prima facie shift in the balance of power between the federal government and the militia (rather than, say, a consumer safety benefit) unless the mandate also applies to federally procured weapons too.
LinuxBender 5y ago
render lost or stolen guns useless Has anyone put this to the real world test? i.e. Give one of these smart firearms to a few dozen gunsmiths, locksmiths or other curious tinkerers and hardware hackers? Bounty programs? Anyone here on HN own one of these? How long does it take to disengage the lock if you are the authorized owner?
- CharleFKane 5y ago
  There was a presentation at DEFCON 25 (2017) by someone who obtained one of the then available smart guns and defeated it with $15 worth of common magnets. Here's a video of the presentation from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3f0p3vTY-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3f0p3vTY-c I think it was also covered on HN at the time.
  - LinuxBender 5y ago
    Thankyou, I am surprised I missed that talk. That implementation seems rather fragile to me. Assuming everything is working as designed one would have to be wearing the watch ahead of time in a home defense situation. That is also a lot of extra moving parts that could fail especially at the range after going through a few boxes of rounds. thinking thermal issues but maybe they tested that
    - verdverm 5y ago
      The gun could run out of batteries is another. The talk goes into two other attacks as well, including denial of service

2 points by sizzle 5y ago

This technology has an interesting history in the U.S. because even anti-gun groups were against it: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/01/why-both-the-pro--and-anti-gun-lobby-are-against-smart-guns https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/01/why-both-the... The reasoning: if guns were safer, people who normally wouldn’t purchase guns would end up purchasing guns.

dane-pgp 5y ago
> people who normally wouldn’t purchase guns would end up purchasing guns. But that's not a problem, is it? Because anti-gun groups aren't against guns per se, just against the harms caused by guns, right? I suppose there is some small percentage of the US population who don't own a gun because they are afraid of their child using it, for example, so they might end up buying one of these smart guns and then, at a later date, using it to commit suicide themselves, whereas without easy access to a gun they might have had a mental health intervention instead. I'm not sure if that group is bigger than the number of lives that would be saved by smart guns replacing non-smart guns (assuming the technology works) though. Anyway, the really interesting questions are what happens if the federal government tried banning non-smart guns. I think a reasonable objection is that this is a prima facie shift in the balance of power between the federal government and the militia (rather than, say, a consumer safety benefit) unless the mandate also applies to federally procured weapons too.

LinuxBender 5y ago

render lost or stolen guns useless Has anyone put this to the real world test? i.e. Give one of these smart firearms to a few dozen gunsmiths, locksmiths or other curious tinkerers and hardware hackers? Bounty programs? Anyone here on HN own one of these? How long does it take to disengage the lock if you are the authorized owner?

CharleFKane 5y ago
There was a presentation at DEFCON 25 (2017) by someone who obtained one of the then available smart guns and defeated it with $15 worth of common magnets. Here's a video of the presentation from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3f0p3vTY-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3f0p3vTY-c I think it was also covered on HN at the time.
- LinuxBender 5y ago
  Thankyou, I am surprised I missed that talk. That implementation seems rather fragile to me. Assuming everything is working as designed one would have to be wearing the watch ahead of time in a home defense situation. That is also a lot of extra moving parts that could fail especially at the range after going through a few boxes of rounds. thinking thermal issues but maybe they tested that
  - verdverm 5y ago
    The gun could run out of batteries is another. The talk goes into two other attacks as well, including denial of service