A start-up company based in Colorado has developed the first biometric smart gun that is set to hit the market.
26-year old Kai Kloepfer, founder and CEO of Biofire, has started taking pre-orders for his smart gun that uses facial and fingerprint recognition. The concept has excited many gun groups that hope the technology could help reduce the number of unintentional firearm deaths that happen in the U.S. each year.
“The basic premise of a smart gun, a firearm that only works for you, is sort of obvious and uncontroversial. The challenge is nobody’s ever built one that always works for you and never works for anybody else.”
Founder of Biofire Kai Kloepfer in an interview with NPR
Kloepfer was just 15-years old when he was first motivated to create his smart gun. His motivation came after the movie theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado that left 12 people killed in 2012.
The first prototype of the smart gun was presented at a science fair. While the model barely worked, Kloepfer was awarded first place because of the engineering analysis involved in the idea of the invention. Since then, Kloepfer and his team have created hundreds of prototypes until they developed their latest model.
Biofire’s smart gun features a fingerprint sensor on the grip and a 3D facial recognition sensor on the back. When the individual authorized to use the weapon holds it, the weapon “unlocks” and a light on the sight turns green.
Kloepfer explained that the intention of this new technology is to decrease the number of unintentional shootings that occur each year.
“Firearms are now a leading cause of death among children and teens. A smart gun would prevent a child from successfully firing a weapon that they’re not authorized to access. And that’s a really promising development.”
Founder of Biofire Kai Kloepfer
You can now custom build and purchase the Biofire smart gun on their website. Customizations include colors for different parts of the gun and a number of upgrades to the gun as well.
