No one but its owner will be able to use it: New smart gun comes with biometric scanning

A company focused on security technologies has launched the Biofire Smart Gun, which addresses biometric-based gun security. The gun uses pre-programmed biometric data to identify users and ensures that only people identified by the owner can use the gun. The product is aimed at preventing tragic scenarios involving children, criminals or other unwanted users or accidental firing of a gun.

It’s like straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Colorado-based security and technology firm Biofire claims that the Smart Gun is always in a “locked state” and works the same as a regular 9mm Luger for authorized users, preventing unauthorized use when it leaves the hands of an identified user. To use the weapon, a user list is created with pre-programmed biometric data. The weapon’s Guardian Biometric Engine then authenticates the person holding the weapon using integrated fingerprint and 3D facial recognition. According to the firm, the Guardian Biometric Engine can identify biometric data for up to five users.

This technology may look like something straight out of a sci-fi or spy movie. However, the use of biometrics and similar user identification mechanisms to secure weapon functionality is nothing new. Introduced in the mid-2010s, the Armatix iP1 used an RFID-based safety mechanism that allowed the weapon to work only for users wearing the RFID watch accompanying the system. The manufacturer had promoted it as one of the safest firearms systems available.

Unfortunately, hackers broke the iP1’s security, proving that the system was insecure shortly after launch. Since then, several other companies have competed to bring a safe, functional smart weapon system to the US market, but Biofire was the first to find success in this area. According to Biofire, the biometrics system on the weapon can recognize the user in a few milliseconds. This increases speed and reliability. Biofire has started the sale of the weapon it has already developed. According to the company’s official website, the very expensive Smart Gun Founder’s Edition model is already sold out.