Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The backlash against the Armatix iP1 smart gun has been swift and harsh in the US consumer market. The incredibly expensive .22LR pistol will only fire if the user is wearing a special wireless watch which is sold separately.
Opponents of the gun fear that the technology could become mandatory and also oppose introducing additional points of failure into firearms, which are already prone to malfunctions under the right conditions.
Now, it seems that the controversial pistols might be marketed to law enforcement agencies. We're assuming that the caliber would have to be bumped up f
rom a .22 to at least a 9mm or higher to appeal to US based law enforcement agencies. The idea is that the technology would prevent a cop's gun from being used against him.
According to the Washington Post,
The Metro Industrial Areas Foundation, a group pushing manufacturers for better gun safety, recently met with Mauch in Germany and hope to bring him to the United States to persuade police chiefs to buy his company's guns. The idea: If the technology is good enough for police officers, it should be good enough for consumers. Armatix is developing a 9mm smart gun targeted at the law enforcement market. The company hopes to offer other controls besides a watch, including a version that responds to voices.
Mauch's solution, the iP1, can be personalized so it only fires if the gun's rightful owner is wearing a special watch connected wirelessly to the weapon. It has not been the hit he imagined for the multibillion-dollar U.S. market. Second Amendment advocates, fearing the technology will be mandated, launched angry protests this year against stores in Maryland and California that tried to sell it. The industry that once revered him now looks at him with suspicion.