Using a healthy dose of modern-day electronics, engineers have created a pepper spray gun that automatically measures, shoots, and stops attackers, even when used by novices.
The new technology addresses an old dilemma facing those who use pepper spray guns for the first time. It creates a mist of droplets that are neither too big nor too small and can be effectively inhaled into the lungs in a way that temporarily debilitates people. "With this, all you have to do is pull the trigger and it sends out the right amount of pepper at the right distance," Roland Ouellette, founder of SAM Training LLC, told us. "It solves the problem of people not knowing how to use it properly."
David Bonneau of Enginasion: "It's the ultimate exercise in mechatronics design."
Known as Restrain and Identify, or R-I-D, the new device employs a combination of electronics and microfluidics to achieve the goal of making pepper spray guns more successful. Using an ultrasonic (or radar) sensor, it measures the distance to the perpetrator, sends a signal to a microcontroller (MCU), decides what pressure to employ, then dispenses the correct pepper spray pulse through the proprietary microfluidics system.
To enable users to call for help, it even incorporates an RF transceiver and a pair of cameras, thus enabling it to stream video to the user's private security company. Finally, R-I-D employs GPS (global positioning system) technology to provide its location.
"It's the ultimate exercise in mechatronics design," said David Bonneau, CEO of Enginasion, in an interview. Enginasion developed the system from Ouellette's initial ideas. "It needs great optics, great electronics, and great mechanics."
Enginasion, which specializes in product development, wrote its own software operating system for the gun, and chose the MCU, sensor, and transceiver hardware. It then teamed with an unnamed "microfluidics expert" to design the pneumatic spray system, making it work in closed-loop fashion with the onboard electronics.
Charles, we had distributed the pepper spray to some of the young females for self defense purposes. These females are working in BPO/Call centers and used to work for late night also. While travelling at late night, they used to carry this bottle as part of self defence and seem that it’s very effective. The first advantage is a psychological feeling that females are safe and the second is they can use it effectively, if needed.
William, spray paints are harmful poison and dangerous to eyes. But pepper spray is not that much harmful and having effect only up to 2-3 hours. It can be easily removed by washing under cold water. Each bottle is of 250ml packet at high pressure, so that it can spray up to 1-2 meters which can be used 3-4 times on normal course.
Charless, now a day's pepper sprays are commonly used by peoples, especially females who travels late and mid night as a part of self defence. Such pepper bottles are not automated with sensors, we have to operate it manually if needed and cost you less than $3.
Spray paint is very painful in the eyes at arms length and a bit more. If an attacker is not that close then they are not yet a serious problem. Possibly I have only had to deal with the lesser punks as a civilian. Which is fine with me. I will never try to show anybody just what I know about hand to hand. Paint spray is a far nicer method.
And really, if somebody does not get that close, they are not yet a problem, unless they have a gun.
A Taser needs a permit to even have one in my state, it can only work on one attacker at a time, without a time-consuming reload, and it is fairly simple to defeat, using conductive armor. Besides, a taser makes a bigger bulge in your jeans.Not cool at all.
Pepper spray does not work for druggies and psychotics. Maybe add tazer. The laser works for the eyes also but it is a federal offence. My shocker requires contact and has a breakaway key. If it is pulled out of my hand the wrist bracelet with the key stays so the shocker can not be use againest me. Bee spray is good too. Long range. Does not require license as does mace. Your life changes drasticly when you have to shoot someone.
Who in their right mind would use spray paint as one stated? This person knows nothing about hand to hand combat. Spray paint has the effective range of less than an arms length. Let an assailant get that close and you can end up dead.
Try Bear repellant instead of regular OC pepper spray, or for something less expensive with plenty of range try Wasp & Hornet Spray. To heck with the police and attorneys; hose'em, kick their face in, vanish. My wife and daughter both carry bear repellant &/or lead poisoning devices, and always have a can of wasp spray within reach in their car and home doorways.
I never mentioned sticking around until the police show up. I did that once and it will not EVER happen again. That is for certain. So the bad guy will need to figure out how to find me, and his slime-wad lawyer will need to figure out how to prove it was me, and that will be hard to do, since I will have the advantage of not having paint in my eyes. Also, in a self defense situation, I fight dirty, similar to USMC hand-to-hand stuff, but not so sportsman-like.
Unfortunately any computerized pepper spary system would probably also include an automated call to a lawyer and the police. My choice would be for the bad guy to lay there and wait for the police to arrive. And I would certainly not want any of it on video.
The concept of a video system to record burglars is a much more interesting concept, and probably would not be found to be breaking any laws, provided that it only recorded things on my property. Of course, I would not have any warning signs installed, folks who use those are the ones with the fake cameras, after all.
A problem with using spray paint in the eyes, is a hungry lawyer. Your attacker can sue you for loss of income. Never mind that his source of income is attacking and robbing you. I prefer a gun. Dead attackers cannot sue. As an engineer I used to work with said, "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6." Not exactly my sentiment, but if I pull my gun out, I will shoot to kill. And there's no doubt about identification. Those holes in his chest will positively ID the perp.
But if there is aa path to escape, I'm going to run, even in a "Stand Your Ground" state like Georgia. Pulling a gun will be my very last resort.
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