On August 6, 2024, Colorado-based startup Biofire announced that it had shipped its first Smart Guns to customers. These innovative 9mm pistols feature biometric technology to ensure only authorized users can use them, which could help prevent thefts and misuse, including unintentional shootings. There have been at least 156 unintentional shootings by children so far this year, resulting in 56 deaths and 106 injuries.
Biofire’s announcement represents a significant milestone not only for the company, which first unveiled its Smart Gun and began taking preorders in April 2023, but also for smart gun technology as a whole. As discussed here, several companies have attempted to bring smart guns to market as far back as 1997, but technical issues and the gun lobby stalled their progress.
how the biofire smart gun works
Biofire’s Smart Gun, which retails for $1,499 and uses 10- to 15-round magazines, has a fingerprint scanner built into its grip and facial recognition technology integrated into the rear of the pistol. When either system recognizes a registered user, the gun unlocks and can be fired — but only as long as the user maintains their grip on the gun. If the user sets the Smart Gun down or lets go, it will lock again and become inoperable.
Indicator lights at the front and rear of the pistol glow white when the gun is locked but scanning for a registered user, and green when the gun unlocks and is ready to fire. The Smart Gun also features a built-in aiming laser that can be set to activate when an authorized user grips the gun. Buttons on both sides of the gun also allow users to manually turn the laser on or off.
Biofire states that the Smart Gun’s rechargeable lithium-ion battery “will last for months on a single charge with normal use.” But the gun also comes with a docking station that recharges the pistol and features a small tablet for registering users and adjusting the pistol’s settings.
To allay hacking and privacy concerns, Biofire states that all of the fingerprint and facial recognition data is encrypted and kept within the gun, and nothing connects to the internet. Click here to learn more about the technology built into the gun.
market acceptance
Time will tell if the Biofire Smart Gun takes off among consumers and works as intended. So far, the gun lobby has not released any statements about the latest news from Biofire. But in the past, the National Rifle Association has alleged that smart guns may “collect data” from their owners, “can be GPS-tracked or deactivated remotely,” and “will phase out access to traditional, mechanical firearms.”
The NRA states that it “has never opposed smart guns, believing that the rules of the marketplace should govern — what the NRA does oppose is high-handed government mandates of expensive, unproven technology.” But the NRA instigated a boycott of Smith & Wesson that almost bankrupted the company when it agreed to develop smart guns, among other reforms, back in 2000. The company even had a “working prototype” of a smart gun at the time. Had Smith & Wesson been allowed to continue its work, the technology might have been perfected decades ago.
A similar fate befell a German company called Armatix, which developed smart guns that operated when paired with an RFID-enabled watch. Gun rights activists boycotted gun shops in Maryland and California that attempted to sell the guns in 2014, and hackers found a way to bypass the gun’s security mechanism. Armatix filed for bankruptcy before it could perfect its designs.
nssf SUPPORT?
Biofire advertises the fact that it is a member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the gun industry’s trade association, on its website, which is significant for several reasons. In the past, the NSSF claimed that smart guns were “not ready for prime time” and warned people not to “believe the hype.” Like the NRA, the NSSF states that it isn’t against the development of smart guns — only legal mandates that might require them — and holds that “the marketplace should decide if this technology is truly ready for market.”
But in its so-called “fact sheet” on smart guns, the NSSF makes it clear that the marketplace is not “ready” for smart guns. The group claims a “national poll on authorized user technology” — without naming the specific poll or providing a citation — says that 74 percent of Americans believe smart guns “would not be reliable for protection,” and over 80 percent “would not be likely to buy a so-called smart gun.” The NSSF also notes that “[m]arket research by manufacturers demonstrates that there is very little interest or desire among consumers for” smart guns, again without pointing to sources or citations.
The NSSF also implies that smart guns are unnecessary because “fatal firearm accidents have fallen to near record lows,” due in part to the cable locks included with firearms, which is simply not true.