cadfael
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From the AP wires:
CANBERRA, Australia - Australian gun maker Metal Storm Ltd. and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the United States said Friday they had signed an agreement to manufacture a "smart gun" that can only be fired by its owner.
In a joint statement the company and the New Jersey Institute, which is based in Hoboken, N.J., said under the agreement they would combine Metal Storm's electronic handgun known as the O'Dwyer Vle, with the institute's "dynamic grip recognition" technology.
The institute's vice president for research and development, Donald H. Sebastian, said Metal Storm's electronic handgun is "the most viable option" for using its smart gun technology.
He said the gun would meet standards under New Jersey laws passed last year which require smart gun technology to be used in all new handguns sold three years after the state attorney general determines a smart gun prototype is safe and commercially available.
The owner would have his or her grip programmed at a gun shop or police range by practice-firing the weapon. A microchip in the weapon would remember the grip and determine in an instant whether the authorized user was holding the weapon. If not, the gun would not fire.
Metal Storm's Australian general manager Ian Gillespie said the new handgun would go into production in the next couple of years.
"It is it a very robust system that can work in all kinds of extreme conditions, left or right hand, whether you are wearing gloves or not, and even whether you are in muddy or wet conditions," he said. "It can also be programmed for multiple users if required."
Metal Storm shares climbed 41 percent to 60 Australian cents (38.4 cents) on the Australian Stock Exchange following the announcement.
CANBERRA, Australia - Australian gun maker Metal Storm Ltd. and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the United States said Friday they had signed an agreement to manufacture a "smart gun" that can only be fired by its owner.
In a joint statement the company and the New Jersey Institute, which is based in Hoboken, N.J., said under the agreement they would combine Metal Storm's electronic handgun known as the O'Dwyer Vle, with the institute's "dynamic grip recognition" technology.
The institute's vice president for research and development, Donald H. Sebastian, said Metal Storm's electronic handgun is "the most viable option" for using its smart gun technology.
He said the gun would meet standards under New Jersey laws passed last year which require smart gun technology to be used in all new handguns sold three years after the state attorney general determines a smart gun prototype is safe and commercially available.
The owner would have his or her grip programmed at a gun shop or police range by practice-firing the weapon. A microchip in the weapon would remember the grip and determine in an instant whether the authorized user was holding the weapon. If not, the gun would not fire.
Metal Storm's Australian general manager Ian Gillespie said the new handgun would go into production in the next couple of years.
"It is it a very robust system that can work in all kinds of extreme conditions, left or right hand, whether you are wearing gloves or not, and even whether you are in muddy or wet conditions," he said. "It can also be programmed for multiple users if required."
Metal Storm shares climbed 41 percent to 60 Australian cents (38.4 cents) on the Australian Stock Exchange following the announcement.