QinetiQ's X-net vehicle arrest system is currently being used by the UK and US defense departments

Apr 27, 2007 16:26 GMT  ·  By

I'm sure you've seen lots of police soap operas in which police officers effectively stopped cars using spike trips. Apparently, that resulted in disintegrated tires and pissed off stunt men. Ok, ok, the spikes have also proved to be a good police tool in bringing real cars to a halt. But here's something better.

QinetiQ's X-Net is, well, a net that law enforcement agents can toss out in front of a vehicle they want to stop. As the car drives over it, small barbed spikes on the leading edge of the net pierce the tire and wrap the net around the wheels. This, indubitably, forces the wheels of the car to stop.

So, if you happen to be the driver that runs from police officers armed with the X-net, you'll probably feel like God is pulling the brake of your car. Anyway, you probably asked for it since you saw the cops and yelled: "Give me a break!".

There are a few problems though. First of all, if the fugitive is skilled enough he can avoid the X-net. And since bad guys usually play GTA 10 hours a day, there's no doubt cops will probably go back to the stop sticks (only in this scenario). Right! And second of all, big dogs in excess of 10,000 pounds can't be stopped. But it so happens that this will be the case until the True X-Net comes around the corner. QinetiQ will also release their X-Tend remote deployment system that can deploy the net in as little as 3 seconds, without the need for a human standing near the oncoming car.

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