Technological Options for User-Authorized Handguns A Technology-Readiness Assessment (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Technological Options for User-Authorized Handguns
Technological Options for User-Authorized Handguns
Pages 9-48
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From page 9... ...
For instance, in law enforcement and self-defense situations, the gun must be able to be armed quickly for firing, but an unauthorized person(s) in close proximity to the owner must not be able to fire it.
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From page 10... ...
Beginning in fall 2000, NAE staff began to collect and read existing reports on the topic and to talk with a number of knowledgeable individuals in the gun industry, law enforcement, public health, and other sectors. This exploratory phase culminated in a one-day NAE-funded workshop on June 7, 2002, in Washington, D.C.
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From page 11... ...
Rather, the technical requirements for such firearms are likely to be similar if not identical to those for law enforcement.
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Overall, the committee found few ideas for personalizing handguns that were not described in the Sandia or NJIT reports. The few patents that could be linked directly to gun manufacturers were for designs already known to the committee.
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. Handguns are often fired by persons other than their owners or other authorized users.
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Active R&D is initiated, including analytical studies and laboratory studies to physically validate analytical predictions of separate elements of the technology. Examples include components that are not yet inte grated or representative.
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Examples include developmental testing and evaluation of a system in its intended operational setting to determine if it meets design specifications.
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(By charter, DOJ, of which NIJ is a part, can study handguns only in the context of law enforcement. However, the results of research funded by NIJ may be applicable to other gun users.)
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From page 17... ...
. Although all of these stakeholders have opinions about the desirability of the development of UAHGs, this report focuses largely on gun manufacturers and two user groups: law enforcement personnel and homeowners, individuals who store and intend to use their firearm at home.
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From page 18... ...
commonalities, because of the need to accommodate adverse environmental conditions, the technical requirements for a law-enforcement UAHG will be more stringent than for a homeowner firearm. This issue is discussed in greater detail in Objective 1: User Requirements, below.
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. Metal Storm/ 20022003 $185,000 R&D on a total electronic VLe Small Arms handgun.
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The legal community likewise has an indirect economic interest in hand guns, because lawyers receive money for engaging in handgun-related litigation.
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Because manufacturing flaws are rare with modern manufacturing and quality-control systems, and because manufacturers generally do warn buyers of potential risks regarding their products, most litigation involving UAHGs is likely to be based on design liability. According to one school of thought, handgun manufacturers that fail to incorporate user-authorization technology may be subject to design liability claims.
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From page 22... ...
Because most handguns sold today do not have user-authorization technology, a plaintiff would have trouble convincing a court that a handgun without such technology failed to meet the user's expectations. If user-authorization technology would create a liability that otherwise might not exist, manufacturers are likely to be reluctant to spend potentially large resources on R&D to develop it.
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From page 23... ...
gun users concerned primarily with public safety (i.e., law enforcement personnel)
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From page 24... ...
Because of this complexity, the committee consciously focused on the requirements of the userauthorization technologies at this early stage of product development. There are three significant differences between the requirements for the public-security application and the personal-safety use of a UAHG.
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Based on its own judgment as well as information from the two Sandia reports, NIJ, and military handgun testing guidelines, the committee has compiled what it believes is a reasonable set of requirements and corresponding specifications for a UAHG (Table 3)
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· For law enforcement, weapon can be used by individuals wearing gloves. · Weapons for homeowners are not usable by individuals wearing gloves.
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is a measure of the likelihood that a security system will incorrectly grant access to an unauthorized user. It is typically stated as the ratio of the number of false acceptances divided by the number of identification attempts.
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. The state of the art in biometrics For more information about authentication, the interested reader may wish to consult the two Sandia reports (1996, 2001)
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· other characteristics (e.g., face recognition, handwritten signature, keystroke signature, gait, thermal signature) Based on the experience embodied in several of the committee members, the committee believes that only five biometric technologies can fit and function on a handgun and meet the requirements and specifications outlined in Table 3: fingerprint, voice recognition, skin texture, skin spectroscopy, and handgrip pressure.
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From page 30... ...
. If the reader receives the correct response, it activates either an electronic firing mechanism coupled to the trigger or actuates a mechanism that removes a safety lock or mechanical obstruction of the firing pin.
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In the case of a UAHG, the database would contain the public "keys" of authorized users and might be housed within the handgun itself. A tag embedded under the skin may raise health and other concerns.
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From page 32... ...
that "detonates" the cartridge. Some gun manufacturers believe that all-electronic firing mechanisms will be more reliable for a UAHG than mechanical methods because they will eliminate the need for an electromechanical interface.
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It should also be possible to enroll multiple new users at one time, as might be desired in a law enforcement application, where several officers require access to the same firearm. For such bulk enrollment, the handgun would need to carry out a dialog with a computer.
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From page 34... ...
For example, RFID tags are being used for logistics tracking and control and automatic toll collection, and both RFID and biometrics are used for building-access control. Mechanical latching remains a critical component of the design of a UAHG with a mechanical firing mechanism.
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From page 35... ...
3 (2) by reader thr for ed wer read RFID be sensor po oscopy is The the nforcement of Skin Spectr (4)
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is very important for law enforcement because it ensures that authorized officers will not be rejected. The FAR (false acceptance rate)
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From page 37... ...
37 Tag Embedded RFID 5 5 5 4 4 5 RFID Reader 4 4 4 4 4 4 44 andgrip H (4)
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From page 38... ...
Radio Frequency Identification In the technology evaluation in the 1996 Sandia report, RFID tags, which scored the highest, are apparently the only "what-you-have" authorization technology presently used in a gun application. iGun, a subsidiary of 8TRL 4: Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment.
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From page 39... ...
Metal Storms' comments not withstanding, all efforts to use "external" RFID tags to develop a UHAG have been abandoned. One can imagine that law enforcement officers might be willing to have a "chip," a virtual biometric RFID tag, inserted as a reasonable requirement of the profession.
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From page 40... ...
The basic technological components are integrated with reasonably realistic supporting elements so that the technology can be tested in a simulated environment. Examples include "high fidelity" laboratory integration of components.
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From page 41... ...
NJIT has reported that its handgrip-pressure technology will be interfaced with an electronically fired handgun made by Metal Storm. The design of the Metal Storm gun is radically different from the design of the S&W and Remington electronic guns.
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From page 42... ...
The failure mode of a UAHG is a critical issue. With an electromechanical latching system, if the power to drive the latch fails, the gun could be armed, as is necessary for law enforcement, or unarmed, as appropriate for homeowners.
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From page 43... ...
Through the NIJ program, S&W, FN Manufacturing, and NJIT have already spent or will soon spend amounts on UAHG development approaching the development costs of a conventional gun. Nevertheless, in the committees' judgment of TRLs, no one is close to having integrated brass-board test articles (present systems are at a level of TRL 5 or less)
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From page 44... ...
A UAHG for homeowners has less stringent authorization requirements, although no on-gun solution can satisfy all of the requirements today. Inclement weather, dirt, and gloves are not significant factors, assuming the gun remains in the home, but the weapon must recognize an authorized user in a stressful situation, and the gun should share the requirement of a law enforcement gun of being extremely difficult for an unauthorized person intentionally to bypass the security system.
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From page 45... ...
Integrating a mechanical latching mechanism into the close confines of a handgun is a demanding task, but gun manufacturers have a great deal of experience in mechanical design. With mechanical latching, the fail-safe mode of a gun can be armed (for law enforcement)
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From page 46... ...
. The Sandia reports of 1996 and 2001 indicated that law enforcement officers at that time were skeptical of the technology, at best.
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From page 47... ...
2003. The Use of Biometrics to Control Access to a Personalized Law Enforcement Handgun.
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From page 48... ...
2004. Statement of Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program, on RFID tags before the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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