Lapses in currently available gun safety measures leave firearms accessible to unauthorized family members or thieves. Lapses in available gun safety measures account for significant numbers of shooting injuries and deaths annually. Biometrics technologies have matured sufficiently to enable creation of a personalized weapon suitable for safe use by gun owners. The NJIT team has studied several prototypes now under development for police mainly systems that rely on sensing and recognition technologies, such as radio-frequency devices using tiny, wireless transmitters in rings and bracelets to activate weapons. In fact, weapons that utilize magnetic locks and rings as transmitters are unsuitable for preventing unauthorized use of a gun.
Any unauthorized user can fire such a weapon simply by confiscating the ring.
However, the continued development of such systems may prove useful because they might generate technologies for miniaturizing other functional systems to be used in a personalized weapon. The Sandia Study paid minimal attention to protecting or safeguarding guns in the homes of citizens. During the period since the Sandia Study, the scientific landscape has altered considerably. Answers are now beginning to emerge. NJIT research indicates that at least one feasible approach, biometrics, can adequately meet the university s definition of a personalized weapon.