Biofire has just announced what may be the world’s first practical, biometrically secured smart gun.
As long as the concept has been floating around, it’s no surprise that a company is finally bringing one to market. The company is Biofire, and the product appears to be the world’s first truly practical and commercially available smart gun. While smart guns from science fiction typically do things like auto-lock onto targets, here in reality, the new Biofire Smart Gun is simply protected by biometrics.
A biometrically secured firearm that can only be fired by certain approved individuals is impressive technology in itself, but it does open a can of worms considering that anti-gun groups have endorsed the concept in the past and states like New Jersey have introduced legislation attempting to restrict future sales of firearms not equipped with this tech. Gun Digest will be keeping an eye on the Biofire Smart Gun to see where this all goes. The company has, however, already released a statement declaring its opposition to mandates such as the New Jersey law and its support for private ownership and freedom of choice.
That all said, how does the Biofire Smart Gun actually work? It uses “capacitive fingerprint identification and 3D infrared facial recognition” to determine if the individual holding the firearm is approved to fire it. Biometric data is captured by the gun during user enrollment and stored only on the gun; biometric data is never directly exposed by or stored on the dock. Once the system detects either an approved user’s fingerprint or face (whichever comes first), it quickly unlocks and can be fired like a normal handgun.
The system is also protected by “solid state, encrypted electronic fire control technology” to prevent tampering and is the first handgun to utilize “fire-by-wire” technology typically only used on fighter jets and missiles. Further, Biofire claims that the system can work even if the user is wearing a face covering or gloves. The pistol itself is 9mm, striker-fired and feeds from 10- or 15-round magazines.
The standard variant of the Biofire Smart Gun is slated to begin shipping in Q2 of 2024 and will have an MSRP of $1,499. Preorders are currently open and the guns can be ordered in either left- or right-handed configurations and in several color combinations.
For more information, please visit smartgun.com.
More On Home Defense:
- The Home Defense Vs Concealed Carry Gun
- Why A Home Defense AR-15 Is The Best Choice
- Why The Home Defense Shotgun Rules The Roost
- Home Defense: AR vs. Shotgun
- Birdshot For Home Defense: Too Much, Too Little Or Just Right?
Next Step: Get your FREE Printable Target Pack
Enhance your shooting precision with our 62 MOA Targets, perfect for rifles and handguns. Crafted in collaboration with Storm Tactical for accuracy and versatility.
Subscribe to the Gun Digest email newsletter and get your downloadable target pack sent straight to your inbox. Stay updated with the latest firearms info in the industry.
Any mandate of a “smartgun” like this is a violation of the ADA. These DO NOT work for anyone like me. I have eczema. My thumb can’t even be read by law enforcement grade print scanners. It takes multiple attempts to unlock my phone with my less severely impacted thumb.
Finger print readers don’t work with sweaty, dirty, or very dry skin.
Criminals would love to see these mandated. They will have a much safer workplace.
Nothing a Dremel tool can’t fix. Snip the lockout lever, and it’s just another firearm..
Did you actually read the article? It’s a Fire-by-Wire system. There is no “Lock out lever” I suspect if you try to bubba this with a Dremel you’re going to find yourself with a $1500 paper weight and the realization that you’re not as clever as you think you are. If you want to hack this, I suspect you’ll need a UART cable, decryption keys and the ability to hack machine code.
As with electric cars, this is another technology that will eventually be forced on us, I fear, probably resulting in an equally long list of negative consequences. To be fair, I like this design’s appearance. The left hand build option is a definite plus, though it isn’t apparent if ejection is also reversed. However, all the same issues arise. How does it handle EMP and radio jamming? What about battery failure? In the event the authorized user is disabled, is there provision for another family member to access the weapon, and can multiple users be authorized? In the event government requires some sort of police accessible deactivation feature, how will the company respond? Why only 9mm? It seems to me a thoroughly modern, almost sci fi weapon like this would offer more features, since it wouldn’t up cost much to integrate them into the electronics (night vision, a light and/or laser sight, digital round counter, etc.), and I’d expect a new cartridge, something along the lines of the 5.7×28, maybe a 6mm delivering higher velocities, larger mag capacity and low recoil. I REALLY have misgivings about the company officers’ previous employment (note the list that’s down the company page a bit), and the lack of any way to contact them to ask these questions is a red flag. Might as well start writing our reps now, because as soon as the loony Left sees this thing, they’ll be tripping over each other to get their bills submitted.