Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. News

You can’t shoot this smart gun unless you’re wearing a special ring

By
Ask any hunter or sportsman about OF Mossberg & Son and they will immediately mention the firearm maker’s highly regarded line of shotguns. Founded in New Haven, Connecticut, Mossberg has been making guns since 1919 and is the oldest family-owned gun maker in the U.S. Carrying on the family’s tradition of gun entrepreneurship is Jonathan Mossberg, who is developing a ring to make guns safer for people to own.

Mossberg is among a group of pioneers who are embracing modern sensor technology and bringing it to the world of firearms safety. Unlike other technology companies that have entered this field, Mossberg comes from a firearms background, bringing the perspective of a gun owner (and gun manufacturer) to the equation. Mossberg understands that firearms safety methods have been eschewed by guns owners because existing systems make the gun difficult to use in emergency situations. Lock-based solutions for example, require a user to locate a key, unlock the lock, and then remove it from the trigger before the gun can be fired.

Recommended Videos

Related: See here for the best accessories for your firearm

Instead of whiz-bang solutions, Mossberg’s proposed smart gun technology, which is being developed by his iGun Technology Corp., ties a gun to a single user and makes it easy for that person to grab their gun and fire immediately in an emergency. “We’re gun people, so we know when you pick up a gun you want to shoot it,” Mossberg said. “You don’t want to swipe your finger. You don’t want to talk to it. In an emergency situation, you want to pick it up and use it.”

1 of 10
ring around your gun for safety igun 009
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 0010
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 008
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 007
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 001
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 002
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 004
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 003
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 005
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ring around your gun for safety igun 006
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The main component of Mossberg’s system is a ring that will control the firing mechanism of a gun. The easy-to-wear piece of jewelry contains proprietary technology that will communicate with a circuit board installed on the firearm. When the ring is within centimeters of the gun, the embedded sensor system will recognize the ring and unlock the gun for immediate use. Mossberg says the technology has been tested more than 3,000 times without failure.

Mossberg knows he faces an uphill battle when it comes to changing the negative opinions of both law enforcement and consumers regarding gun lock solutions. That battle will be won or lost in the long term, but in the immediate future, Mossberg is working on improving the firearm circuitry with the goal of shrinking it to fit inside the handgun. An internal board will restore the seamless appearance of the gun and will hide the technology from potential thieves who will of course be surprised when their stolen gun fails to operate.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Kelly Hodgkins
Kelly Hodgkins
Contributor
Kelly's been writing online for ten years, working at Gizmodo, TUAW, and BGR among others. Living near the White Mountains of…
Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy
Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.

Read more
Volkswagen plans 8 new affordable EVs by 2027, report says
volkswagen affordable evs 2027 id 2all

Back in the early 1970s, when soaring oil prices stifled consumer demand for gas-powered vehicles, Volkswagen took a bet on a battery system that would power its first-ever electric concept vehicle, the Elektro Bus.
Now that the German automaker is facing a huge slump in sales in Europe and China, it’s again turning to affordable electric vehicles to save the day.Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer told German media that the company plans to bring eight new affordable EVs to market by 2027."We have to produce our vehicles profitably and put them on the road at affordable prices," he is quoted as saying.
One of the models will be the ID.2all hatchback, the development of which is currently being expedited to 36 months from its previous 50-month schedule. Last year, VW unveiled the ID.2all concept, promising to give it a price tag of under 25,000 euros ($27,000) for its planned release in 2025.VW CEO Larry Blume has also hinted at a sub-$22,000 EV to be released after 2025.It’s unclear which models would reach U.S. shores. Last year, VW America said it planned to release an under-$35,000 EV in the U.S. by 2027.The price of batteries is one of the main hurdles to reduced EV’s production costs and lower sale prices. VW is developing its own unified battery cell in several European plants, as well as one plant in Ontario, Canada.But in order for would-be U.S. buyers to obtain the Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 tax credit on the purchase of an EV, the vehicle and its components, including the battery, must be produced at least in part domestically.VW already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennesse, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. But it’s unclear whether its new unified battery cells would be built or assembled there.

Read more
Nissan launches charging network, gives Ariya access to Tesla SuperChargers
nissan charging ariya superchargers at station

Nissan just launched a charging network that gives owners of its EVs access to 90,000 charging stations on the Electrify America, Shell Recharge, ChargePoint and EVgo networks, all via the MyNissan app.It doesn’t stop there: Later this year, Nissan Ariya vehicles will be getting a North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter, also known as the Tesla plug. And in 2025, Nissan will be offering electric vehicles (EVs) with a NACS port, giving access to Tesla’s SuperCharger network in the U.S. and Canada.Starting in November, Nissan EV drivers can use their MyNissan app to find charging stations, see charger availability in real time, and pay for charging with a payment method set up in the app.The Nissan Leaf, however, won’t have access to the functionality since the EV’s charging connector is not compatible. Leaf owners can still find charging stations through the NissanConnectEV and Services app.Meanwhile, the Nissan Ariya, and most EVs sold in the U.S., have a Combined Charging System Combo 1 (CCS1) port, which allows access to the Tesla SuperCharger network via an adapter.Nissan is joining the ever-growing list of automakers to adopt NACS. With adapters, EVs made by General Motors, Ford, Rivian, Honda and Volvo can already access the SuperCharger network. Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, and Jaguar have also signed agreements to allow access in 2025.
Nissan has not revealed whether the adapter for the Ariya will be free or come at a cost. Some companies, such as Ford, Rivian and Kia, have provided adapters for free.
With its new Nissan Energy Charge Network and access to NACS, Nissan is pretty much covering all the bases for its EV drivers in need of charging up. ChargePoint has the largest EV charging network in the U.S., with over 38,500 stations and 70,000 charging ports at the end of July. Tesla's charging network is the second largest, though not all of its charging stations are part of the SuperCharger network.

Read more