James Bond Style Smart Gun that can Only be Fired by Its Owner

Tech Gadgets
Alexis N. Crockett
February 3, 2014
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4 minutes read

A company has developed a high-tech pistol it says can help curb gun violence by allowing only its owner pull the trigger. The slick Smart System gun from Armatix looks like something James Bond might carry and uses watch that transmits an identifying radio frequency that prevents everyone but its wearer from firing. The gun is one of several competing for a $1 million prize from the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation, a group started by tech investors in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, where 26 were killed in 2012.

The Smart System’s futuristic appearance hides its simple logic: wear the watch and you can fire the gun. Don’t wear the watch and the pistol is a useless hunk of metal. A light on the gun glows green when it can be fired and red when it’s locked. According to the company website, the gun deactivates itself as soon as its out of range of the watch such as when its been stolen by an intruder or knocked out of its owner’s hand. ‘Technology has been proven to solve today’s greatest social challenges, and curbing gun violence in this country is one of the greatest challenges we face,’ billionaire tech investor Ron Conway told CNN.

Conway, who’s pumped millions in companies like Twitter, Facebook, BuzzFeed and more, is one of the investors behind Smart Tech Challenges Foundation. A panel will assess the gun safety solutions devised by companies including Armatix and offer cash rewards to fund the brightest and best.’We are going to find that entrepreneur who wins this contest and hopefully build that idea into a huge company,’ said Conway.

While only the Armatix gun works with its watch, another entry is a device that can be inserted into any Glock pistol and warns the owner any time the gun is moved or used. Another entry is a fingerprinted-activated gun lock devised by Carmen Lobis, the grandfather of Sandy Hook victim Benjamin Wheeler. Conway told CNN his group’s contest seeks to find the ‘Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page of gun safety.’