Patent ID: 8640684

Claim:
A pneumatic launcher for launching a projectile at a target, comprising: a) a chamber configured for holding a projectile prior to launching; b) functionally associated with said chamber, a barrel defining a bore configured for guiding a said projectile launched from said chamber in a desired direction; c) a propellant conduit for directing a gas propellant into said chamber to propel a said projectile from said chamber and out of said barrel, thereby launching said projectile; d) functionally associated with said chamber and/or said propellant conduit, a regulating mechanism configured to regulate at least one characteristic of gas propellant that effects a launch power with which said projectile is propelled from said chamber; e) a digital processor configured to control said regulating mechanism as a function of a distance and also based on the detection of a face, to propel a said projectile with a distance-dependent launch power calculated to impact a target with a desired force; and f) a distance-provider functionally associated with said processor, configured to provide to said processor a distance value wherein said distance value is a distance to an object at which the pneumatic launcher is aimed, wherein a said characteristic of said gas propellant is additionally determined based on whether or not the pneumatic launcher is aimed at a face, and wherein said desired force is a force selected to reduce the chance of injurious impact to a target located at a said provided distance value.