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.
Glad to hear that the image shown is not the image they were planning to bring to market. There would be no way any one would carry around a device like that--far too big and scary looking.
I suppose that there's high utility in using a pepper spray gun correctly, but I guess I'm of mindset that we don't want to make it too easy. I could see one of these things whipping out on the soccer field as two over-the-top parents from opposing teams go at it. For me, the coolest thing about this innovation is the lessons it can bring in terms of mechatronics design. That's what is most important.
I see this as useful for litigation on both sides, as long as the video doesn't conveniently "disappear".
I think there needs to be a reevaluation of how many cell-connected devices one must carry though. If this device is going to call the police for you, one likely has four or more cell-service devices at close hand - the pepper spray can, a cell phone, a tablet such as i-pad, and the on-star service in a car.
I'd rather see this device be blue-tooth connected to my phone.
Communicating through Bluetooth is a good idea. Then you could have an app on the phone that communicates the way you want to. If it is the local police, then that is who is called. I guess that the "issue" is the storage of the video. Perhaps there could be a clooud service for storage of the video. Of course, if you have a service that is set up the way the designer has specified, then you do that. I
"I'd rather see this device be blue-tooth connected to my phone."
Coming soon... glasses/smart phone/camera/mace all in one. Upgrade to a full personal/device security suite that will video and mace any target... and call the police with one simple voice command.
Neat use of technology, but if you just carry a gun, the attacker will be right where you left him! (In the order of fairness, I could have said her, too, but statistically, not very common)
I carry a gun simply because a cop is too heavy.
Ebay has some very small HD cameras, the size of a key chain in fact. $5... Low light performance is poor, but with some simple upgrades it shouldn't be hard to get that corrected.
You are right on with that! People who are determined can work through a pepper spray attack. I once had a security firm, and as part of the training you had to restrain and handcuff an assailant who had just pepper sprayed you. We used half strenth spray on the instructor who was demonstrating. Then we used full strength on the students. It was a blast.
Cost is an important consideration. Pepper spray is about $30. And once you use it, it has to be replaced. I'm sure that with GPS, rangefinder, microprocessor, etc, its cost will be way north of $30. Plus, how much is a refill?
So how much is your life worth? Some would say "Priceless", but I don't see many people with a dedicated bodyguard. So cost is an important consideration. Bullets cost pennies, but could be as high as $1.00 each time you shoot one. So even if I have to use 5 shots to bring down an attacker, it's still a pretty good bargain. Add $60 every 5 years to renew my carry permit and it's still a bargain. OK, so the gun cost a lot of money, but some guns are good investments. Pay $400 today and you might get $600 for it in 10 years or less (I have an SP101 I paid $199 for and now is worth $320+). If they can bring this to market for $100 or less with refills at $20 each, they might have something. Otherwise, it's just an Engineering exercise.
Great point fredsay. It's a nice set of features if you are in law enforcement and are using it for riot control. However, size and cost would be an issue for the average citizen. Most people who carry pepper spray want a small, cheap can that can be easily slipped into a pocket and disposed of. If you're willing to spend the money and carry something with more bells and whistles, there are other solutions.
Nice idea. Another application would be to integrate video capture on a pistol. Maybe integrate with the LASER Illuminator that mounts to the acceory Rail.
In most cases, the motion required to respond to an attack is not going to allow for the steady positioning required for a picture except perhaps in out in bright sunlight.
The concept is appealing, the market will see value, the cost will be prohibitive and when the function is really required to be used as intended which probably would involve a darker, less well lit environment and perhaps involving an attack or conflict, the functionality would not be there.
Soon everyone will have "google glasses" of some sort that will record everyplace you are and everything you see - sent to the cloud and you can retrieve/delete the recordings at will. This invention seems to be too late for a long run. The science is useful, however.
I'm with you, ChasChas. I'm all for development of this product, but it should arrive around the same time as the commercial version of the Google Glasses. The personal "dash-cam" will be a very cost-effective product that streams audio and video via Bluetooth to your handheld that beams it into the cloud via 4G/5G...
I suspect that Google Glasses with a forward-facing camera could just as easily include rear/side facing cameras to alert you to overtaking bicycles, automobiles, or people. Just like there was an explosion of "software programmers" to take advantage of the arrival of personal computers, the arrival of integrated devices with oodles of sensors, ultra-wide bandwidth, and infinite storage, it will be difficult for app designers to keep up.
I have to agree on this one. The costs must be substantial if all of the features are incorporated into the device. I'm going to get in trouble here but my wife has a purse considerably bigger than Pittsburg yet finding anything in there is a daunting task, including her cell phone. In her case, miniaturizing the pepper spray device would be detrimental. Making it bigger might work. I really wonder if the spray is that effective. Does it work well enought to ward off an attacker and can an individual react quickly enough for it to be that useful? The same is true for aiming the device. Our police force carries spray but it's in an "industrial can", has a handle and even cross-hairs. I'm told the contents are specifically formulated to be considerably stronger than spray purchased "off the shelf". Does anyone know if this is the case?
A much simpler way to provide a means of identifying the assailant would be to add dye to the pepper spary, like the dye banks use with the money packs they hand robbers. And how about a laser pointer to assist in aiming? A laser pointer allows most folks to be fairly accurate with a pistol, and it should be even more effective for aiming a pepoper spray device. Of course, my personal preference has ben a can of spray paint. IT is cheaper, you get a lot more for your money, it certainly marks the attacker, and it really burns in an attackers eyes. Does it bother me that I might be injuring an attacker? NO, it does not bother me at all. Of course, it is also important to not blast folks who are merely unpleasant looking. Judgement is still needed in that area.
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.
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.
My mom was attacked when she was 70 years old. She still limps bad and is scared to go to certain places. I say anything that helps is good! Lots of good ideas on here as well.
Oh, btw, my little old mom beat the guy off! She ended up in the hospital for awhile and as I said still suffers. She should have let him go. Anything that could have helped her fight would have been good.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 its very effective. The first advantage is a psychological feeling that females are safe and the second is they can use it effectively, if needed.
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