Safety issues related to the ownership and storage of firearms are one of the most pressing issues in the world. In this context, armed civilians and athletes, as well as military and law enforcement personnel, are ordered to make every possible effort to ensure that their weapons do not fall into the wrong hands. And to solve this problem, some time ago the concept of “smart” weapons was invented, which should not work if they fall into the wrong hands.

At most, we once talked about the first such weapon, the iP1 pistol, developed by the German company Armatix, but, unfortunately, the appearance of the first “intelligent” pistol was a little ahead of its time and did not become widespread. , but can be purchased at some specialty stores.

The Armatix iP1 pistol is an early 2000s development. Along with the gun itself, a special smartwatch is used, which transmits identification data to the gun using RFID. The RFID trigger distance has been chosen in such a way that it will only activate when the weapon is on the wrist on which the smart watch is worn.

So why did such a “smart” weapon become a failed project? Firstly, gunsmith specialists noted a rather long delay between the moment of picking up the weapon and the moment of activation, which in most cases is unacceptable. At most, for the possibility of constant use of weapons for self-defense, for example, its owner must constantly wear a smart watch, which at certain moments is associated with certain inconveniences.

And as a weapon, the iP1 gun cannot claim to be anything serious. It uses .22 LR cartridges, which are widely used in sport and small game hunting, significantly limiting the use of the pistol for self-defense or law enforcement purposes. Also, experts note the incredibly difficult landing, and sighting devices in no way provide accurate shooting.

Given all of the above, it can be assumed that the Armatix iP1 pistol is only the first experimental example of a “smart” weapon and is not a serious development for use in the field of self-defense, military or law enforcement. . Source