Improved Gun Safety via a Smartphone

U.S. Patent No. 9,316,454 for a “Secure Smartphone-Operated Gun Lock with Means for Overriding Release of the Lock” is held by independent inventor Karl Milde. This patent has a 2013 Priority Date, was granted in 2016, and is the latest patent in a nine-patent portfolio that comprehensively addresses keeping a gun secure and out of the hands of an unauthorized user.

Regardless of one’s stand on gun rights, there is no debate that guns need to be kept out of the hands of any person who is not the rightful owner or an authorized user of the gun. This patent uses a smartphone as an “electronic key” to control use of a gun. Biometric data (a face image, iris image, voiceprint or fingerprint) is captured by a smartphone and transmitted to the gun lock. If it matches pre-stored data, the gun is unlocked, so only an authorized user can fire the gun. However, in the case of an emergency, the gun owner’s voiceprint commands can also lock or unlock the gun. The smartphone can be used as a key by an authorized user to control the gun, and additional smartphones can be used as keys by other authorized users.

Additionally, police agencies can use the technology for improved field safety. For example, when the handgun is drawn, the system can be configured to transmit video and audio to the smartphone, which records and livestreams it to a central station. The connection can include GPS coordinates, time stamps of shots fired and a request for backup. If a firearm is taken from a police officer, it is automatically disabled so the “bad guy” cannot use it to shoot the police officer or anyone else. The system can be configured so a gun is automatically locked in “safe areas” such as school zones and airports, and the system even includes a breathalyzer option so that even the rightful owner of the gun cannot use it if he or she is not sober.

Exponential Technology Growth for Smartphones

We can only wonder what Alexander Graham Bell imagined for his invention, or for its many possible future uses. His world was simply eons beyond ours in technology and its many applications. Yet, it's not only the applications but also the smartphone's looks that are changing. The next Patent Pipeline addresses what you might expect the next generation of our ubiquitous devices to look like.