Laser guided targeting system for your rifle

[Lazerbeak]

A New 'Smart Rifle' Decides When To Shoot And Rarely Misses : All Tech Considered : NPR

Came across this a while back, thought some of the gun people might find it interesting. A laser targeting system for your rifle. Works much like the targeting systems on fighter jets. You sight the target with your laser, the system does all the calculations and fires only when the gun is on target.

http://tracking-point.com/

~ LB

 

[scumbagatheist]

Scariest weapon to hit the streets in years. No longer do you have to be a trained lunatic, you only need to be sh!t-house-rat crazy and have a good credit card to have yourself a mass killing....yay 'Merica!

<enter: cynical a$$hole mode>

 

[Lazerbeak]

On one level, I think the tech that is now possible is amazing, but it's also difficult to see a practical purpose for something on the consumer level. Yes, the ability to make long distance "kill" shots accurately, even on moving multiple targets, by pointing and clicking is "Scary". On the military side we also have laser guided bullets which can change trajectory to strike a target.

Just because a thing is possible doesn't always mean we should make it so. Einstein had his regrets after unlocking the power of the atom. We haven't quite evolved beyond beating each other to death with sticks yet in my opinion. :cryyy:

~ LB

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Better make sure that if you take hostages you have a fail-deadly device on your hostage. On another note, eventually they could add a simple guidance system to allow hitting within certain angles.

 

[Lazerbeak]

Better make sure that if you take hostages you have a fail-deadly device on your hostage.

I was wondering that too, what happens when a target passes in front of another. I doubt the system can differentiate between the two. "fail-deadly device" cool B. Badger, that's what you call those I wonder if facial recognition is accurate enough and the programming smart enough to do something like that with software? I hadn't really thought about that application. Would be a good use of the technology :thinking:

~ LB

 

[Eudaimonium]

I have other questions.

If something as advanced as this is hitting the consumer market... what kind of tech does the military have now?

That aside, I think this really won't take off. It's just way too damn expensive, and it kinda-sorta takes the fun out of the shooting. Ability to shoot, and demonstrating it, is what's fun.

This is gonna end up like that Gibson's Robot guitar. What, never heard of it? Exactly. Despite the fact that it was a guitar that literally tunes itself.

 

[Lazerbeak]

I thought purists would hate this Eudaimonium and no, never heard of the Robot Guitar. I think self guided ammunition and directed energy weapons are going to be big. Darpa's enhanced warfighter program. This is serious not science fiction. Billions of $$$ are being invested in this. Soldiers able to grow back lost limbs, stay awake and alert for days at a time. This is stuff that is already working and being tested.

~ LB

 

[Eudaimonium]

I know. Damn, you'd think that a civilization can have only so many ways to kill itself. But, nope, let's just keep developing weapons as fast as we can. You never know if we might actually need them some day!

 

[Lazerbeak]

We could just go back to basics :thinking: ...

but... since this is LPF, we could make it laser guided

~ LB

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Edit...

You will of course need your Rhyolite security clearance to access that information...

 

[RA_pierce]

More tech means another point that can fail.
IMO a trained shooter is worth more than a targeting computer.

This tech would be more useful on an automated gun.

 

[Lazerbeak]

This tech eliminates the need for "training" unfortunately and an "automated" gun, no doubt that is in the works as well. I know a former defense contractor that perfected such a system but for defensive purposes only.

~ LB