NOTE: Originally written 2016, see Coda
With the President's Executive Order to further research "Smart Gun technology and adoption," this topic once again appears in the public forum. And on paper (and in video games, like Metal Gear Solid), it sounds like a great solution to keep guns out of unauthorized hands. In reality, it's a buggy boondoggle that will do nothing for safety and security. Not just for the reasons most gun enthusiasts mention, but the concept itself is impossible.
A Smart Gun is one that only works for an authorized user. Typically the user is verified by a dongle, watch, ring, implant, fingerprint or key. In the cases of science fiction, voiceprints, implanted "Nanomachines" and or cybernetic implant. The idea is that the smarts only allow the gun to fire if an authorized user is holding the gun. No system is 100%, so we will discount the edge cases of someone being coerced to use their gun or incapacitated users being used for authentication.
As of today there are four technologies that I know of designed for this.
There are other concepts that haven't reached the pre-production stage yet such as fingerprint readers etc. The criticisms that already exist apply to all of them. What if the battery wears out? What if it gets damaged, what if I lose the unlocking device? The biggest problem is one of safety. In order to be an effective lock, it would have to lock the gun with a round in the chamber. It would have to preclude disassembly as well to prevent the lock being disabled. It would also make gunsmithing and repairs impossible without some sort masterkey or other unlock. Such a masterkey would inevitably be discovered and used by criminals to unlock stolen guns and others to unlock guns without authorization. Thus the fatal flaw. Either the gun locks the cartridges in the chamber unsafely and makes normal cleaning and maintenance nigh impossible or it has a hardcoded backdoor that will inevitably leak.
Safe storage will always be a responsibility of gun owners. No on-board lock will ever change that. Where this idea has merit is as a safety for gun grabs and takeaways. It would work thus;
Any lock can be opened in enough time. So instead of trying to make a gun that can't be unlocked, I'd focus on making guns that are resistant to grabs and takeaways. I'd start with an add on wrap-around grip for 19ll's that replaces the grip safety mechanism. One panel would hold the electronics and the other would hold the battery. An AR-15 lower modified so the electronics in the grip can act on the trigger group. A shotgun buttstock and grip assembly that works with modified receivers. Working up to a polymer framed striker fired pistol with the electronics in a detachable backstrap.
NB: In the context of this post, "Smart Guns" refers to the concept of a gun that only operates for authorized individuals, not enhanced aiming devices or cybernetic coordination. Sorry Shadowrun lovers.
Recently, Biofire has developed a "smart pistol" that is too big to carry, and designed to be quickly acccessible but safe from unauthorized use. There is talk that their mechanicals are entirely delinked and require the authentication to fire at all. there was supposed to be a video discussing this, but it never appeared as of this writing (May 2024). For $1500 a person could buy this or a gun that actually fits them, that is actually possible to be carried on the person, a good holster or 2, a quality locking box, and have a little left over for ammo and magazines. As the first step to something better, it has potential. In it's current incarnation, it is only better when the owner is innattentive and unwilling to take care with their firearm. Is that the culture we want to engender with firearms owners?
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