Silicon Valley Startup Unveils Internet-Connected Smart Guns for Cops
I’ve been talking about the “internet of things” but mostly how it will affect consumers and homes. However most of the adoption of devices to date is in industrial and civic space. With all of the controversy lately over police gun use, maybe it’s time to start putting police guns on the internet of things. The debate here might be over how secure the near real time data is vs how open the historic data becomes.
A Silicon Valley startup said Friday that police agencies were field testing its new product: a wireless sensor that transforms officers’ weapons into smart guns with real-time telemetry.
Yardarm Technologies’ sensor is a small device that goes inside gun handles and provides dispatchers with real-time geo-location tracking information on the weapon. The Yardarm Sensor also sends alerts when a weapon is unholstered or fired, and it can “record the direction of aim, providing real-time tactical value for commanders and providing crime scene investigators valuable data for prosecution,” the company said.
The 10-employee company based in Capitola, California, said it was deploying the technology on a trial basis. The first takers have been the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department in California and the Carrollton Police Department in Texas.
“By connecting the firearm to the cloud, we give departments a technology that enhances officer safety, improves operational efficiency, and builds community trust,” Jim Schaff, a Yardarm vice president, said.
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