14 DAY TRIAL // Lots of things start out innocently, and the case of Internet-connected firearms will no doubt evolve and (arguably) descend into something that will just make it easier for people to kill each other. But it was inevitable that it would happen at some point.
With all the craze about the Internet of Things and how everything should be interconnected (as if security and privacy aren't already beaten up badly enough), there was no way that guns would be overlooked.
Really, guns were one of the first things 3D printed once additive manufacturing finally took on a form affordable to the common man.
Now Intel, Samsung, LG, Lenovo, HP and pretty much everyone else are trying to interconnect everything people own, whether or not they currently have high-tech elements.
None of them actually touched on the issue of guns, but it turns out they didn't need to. An Austin, Texas-based startup did that instead.
TrackingPoint adds guns to the Internet of Things
Having made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show currently taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, the startup company has revealed the 338TP precision-guided firearm.
This gun allows even “novice shooters” to “make mile-long shots with greater precision than the most skilled marksmen in the world.” If that doesn't sound scary, we don't know what does.
The gun is based on an older project by the company to enhance the precision of guns through augmented reality.
At one point, it was all about using a Google Glass headset to shoot better, even from behind cover. Now, TrackingPoint has also launched the ShotView app, which can be installed on Apple iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) and Google Android ones (you can find the app on Google Play).
ShotView streams video from the gun's scope online. Live. That means that anyone in the world can tune in and watch a deer, bear or whatever other animal being stalked and taken down.
We can see clearly how this can be adapted by the military, especially when it comes to snipers. But that was already being done with helmet cams, so it's not such a big leap forward we suppose.
Back to the 338TP precision-guided firearm, this gun is supposed to let novice hunters nail targets even if they move at 30 mph / 48 kph.
Availability and pricing
“Now that the firearm is networked, the sky is the limit,” says Vann Hasty, TrackingPoint's vice president of engineering. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view), when sales will start and for what price are unknown details, for now.
