SAN JOSE, Calif. - A high-tech startup is wading into the gun-control debate with a wireless controller that would allow gun owners to know when their weapon is being moved - and disable it remotely.
The technology, but not an actual gun, was demonstrated Tuesday at a wireless-technology conference in Las Vegas and was shown to The Associated Press in advance. It comes at a time when lawmakers in the U.S. are considering contentious smart-gun laws that would require new guns to include high-tech devices that limit who can fire them.
The new Yardarm Technologies LLC system would trigger an alarm on an owner's cellphone if a gun is moved, and the owner could then hit a button to activate the safety and disable the weapon. New guns would come with a microchip on the body and antennas winding around the grip. It would add about $50 to the cost of a gun, and about $12 a year for the service.
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"The idea is to connect gun owners more directly with their guns, no matter what the circumstance," said Yardarm CEO Robert Stewart.
The Yardarm system is one of several recently introduced high-tech offerings: the iGun fires only if it recognizes a ring on a finger, the Intelligun uses a fingerprint-locking system, and TriggerSmart uses radio-frequency identification.
The first smart guns were proposed more than 20 years ago, but they failed to take off for several reasons: questionable technology, added costs and concerns from some gun-rights activists about limitations on Second Amendment rights.
Recent high-profile shootings, combined with new technologies, have revived interest.
Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit created by Newtown, Conn., community members, is offering venture capital for new gun-safety technologies.
Stewart said his company has addressed privacy concerns about its system, which would not only include live tracking but also a history of where a gun has been. Yardarm has an exclusive telephony network to avoid hackers and spotty wireless systems, and gun owners could "self-destruct" the technology on the guns themselves if they wish, he said.
