That's hot. My first million, I'm buying one of those. via Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet On Jan 10, 2013 9:11 PM, "Cary Preston" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/17000-linux-powered-rifle-brings-auto-aim-to-the-real-world/ > > $17,000 Linux-powered rifle brings “auto-aim” to the real world ** ** ** Ars > at CES 2013 > > - Vegas in full swing: a CES centerfold > > <http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/vegas-in-full-swing-a-ces-centerfold/> > - Why the UN’s push to control the Internet isn’t > over<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/why-the-uns-push-to-control-the-internet-isnt-over/> > - SSD predictions at CES: fewer OEMs, lower > prices<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/ssd-predictions-at-ces-fewer-oems-lower-prices/> > - Wireless mesh networks at 65MPH—linking cars to prevent > crashes<http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/01/wireless-mesh-networks-at-65mph-linking-cars-to-prevent-crashes/> > - FCC says it will open up Gov’t radio spectrum to improve > Wi-Fi<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/fccs-genachowski-govt-will-open-up-radio-spectrum-to-improve-wi-fi/> > > View all… <http://arstechnica.com/feature-series/ces-2013/> ** > > CES is about technology of all kinds; while we're busy covering cameras, > TVs, and CPUs, there's a huge number of products that fall outside our > normal coverage. Austin-based startup > TrackingPoint<http://tracking-point.com/>isn't typical Ars fare, but its use > of technology to enable getting > *just* the perfect shot was intriguing enough to get me to stop by and > take a look at the company's products. > > TrackingPoint makes "Precision Guided Firearms, or "PGFs," which are a > series of three heavily customized hunting rifles, ranging from a .300 > Winchester Magnum with a 22-inch barrel up to a .338 Lapua Magnum with > 27-inch barrel, all fitted with advanced computerized scopes that look like > something directly out of *The Terminator*. Indeed, the comparison to > that movie is somewhat apt, because looking through the scope of a > Precision Guided Firearm presents you with a collection of data points and > numbers, all designed to get a bullet directly from point A to point B. > **** > > The view through the TrackingPoint's computerized optics. > > TrackingPoint > **** > > The PGF isn't just a fancy scope on top of a rifle. All together, the PGF > is made up of a firearm, a modified trigger mechanism with variable > weighting, the computerized digital tracking scope, and hand-loaded match > grade rounds (which you need to purchase from TrackingPoint). This is a > little like selling both the razor and the razor blades, but the rounds > must be manufactured to tight tolerances since precise guidance of a round > to a target by the rifle's computer requires that the round perform within > known boundaries. > **<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/338T-leftside-quarterfront.jpg> > ** > Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/338T-leftside-quarterfront.jpg>/ > The TrackingPoint XS1, chambered in a .338 Lapua Magnum, with a 27-inch > Krieger barrel and 300 grain match rounds. > > TrackingPoint > **** > > The image displayed on the scope isn't a direct visual, but rather a video > image taken through the scope's objective lens. The Linux-powered scope > produces a display that looks something like the heads-up display you'd see > sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet, showing the weapon's compass > orientation, cant, and incline. To shoot at something, you first "mark" it > using a button near the trigger. Marking a target illuminates it with the > tracking scope's built-in laser, and the target gains a pip in the scope's > display. When a target is marked, the tracking scope takes into account the > range of the target, the ambient temperature and humidity, the age of the > barrel, and a whole boatload of other parameters. It quickly reorients the > display so the crosshairs in the center accurately show where the round > will go. > > Image recognition routines keep the pip stuck to the marked target in the > scope's field of view, and at that point, you squeeze the trigger. This > doesn't fire the weapon; rather, the reticle goes from blue to red, and > while keeping the trigger held down, you position the reticle over the > marked target's pip. As soon as they coincide, the rifle fires. > ** <http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tp-track.png>** > Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tp-track.png>/ > Mark a target, squeeze the trigger, and line up the crosshairs to the > target's pip. > > TrackingPoint > **** > > TrackingPoint is quick to emphasize the rifle doesn't fire "by itself," > but rather the trigger's pull force is dynamically raised to be very high > until the reticle and pip coincide, at which point the pull force is reset > to its default. In this way, the shooter is still in control of the rifle's > firing, and at any point prior to firing you can release the trigger. In > the mockups the company had on display for the press to experiment with, > the action appeared to be the same—I pulled the trigger and lined up the > dots and the blue plastic toy gun went *click*. > ** <http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tp-scope.png>** > Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tp-scope.png>/ > The computerized scope. > **** > > Having the round fire when the shot is lined up rather than in immediate > response to a trigger pull eliminates a tremendous amount of uncertainty > from the shot. Even the most experienced shooters can upset a weapon's aim > when pulling the trigger, and overcoming the reflex to twitch or > preemptively move against a weapon's recoil is very, very difficult. By > allowing the computer to choose the precise moment to take the shot, > accuracy is greatly enhanced. > > Putting lead accurately on targets is only part of what TrackingPoint's > PGF system does. The computerized tracking scope contains some amount of > nonvolatile storage, and like an airplane's "black box," it's constantly > recording the visual feed from the optics. It also contains a small Wi-Fi > server, and TrackingPoint offers an iOS app that connects to the scope via > an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network and streams the scope's display to the app, > allowing someone with an iPad or iPhone to act as a spotter. TrackingPoint > notes that for novice hunters, having the ability to duplicate the scope's > picture onto an external display makes it a lot easier for an experienced > spotter to give advice on how and when to shoot. > ** <http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/39-iPad.png>** > Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/39-iPad.png>/ > The iPad app mirrors the scope's display, allowing a spotter to assist > with shots. > > TrackingPoint > **** > > There's a social media aspect, too—the scope's video recordings can be > uploaded to video sharing sites like YouTube. Rather than bragging to > buddies about that amazing 1000-yard shot you took at the range or out in > the field last week, you can simply show them, complete with all the > heads-up display data about conditions and range. > > TrackingPoint had one actual rifle on display in the press room, along > with several mock-ups equipped with iPhones in place of scopes. The iPhones > were running a simulated version of the TrackingPoint scope software, > letting demo users line up their shots on polygonal deer and hogs in a > landscape much like popular hunting video games. It felt a bit like playing > with an "easy mode" cheat turned on, though, as it was nearly impossible to > miss, even at tremendous distances. TrackingPoint is considering selling > the demo software as a standalone hunting app, though from my brief > experience with it, there wasn't a whole lot of challenge to felling game > once you had the mark-and-fire procedure worked out. > > This might not make a compelling video game, but it certainly does make > for an accurate weapon system. TrackingPoint says the "first shot success > probability"—that is, a shooter's ability to successfully land a round on > target in a single try—is drastically increased. The TrackingPoint > representatives present brought this up when I commented on the necessity > of buying (more expensive) ammunition directly from TrackingPoint rather > than buying or loading one's own rounds. TrackingPoint contends the ability > to be drastically more precise with aiming means fewer rounds have to be > fired for the same effect, ultimately saving money. > ** <http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tp-fssp.jpg>** > Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tp-fssp.jpg> > > TrackingPoint > **** > > I asked about potential military applications, since they are obvious, but > TrackingPoint was quick to downplay involvement with the Department of > Defense. The "connected shooter" goal of the PGF system in many ways lines > up with the Army's limping, on-again-off-again Land > Warrior<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Warrior>program. However, the very > nature of the government contract and > procurement process ensures that any technology developed for military use > must go through an incredibly lengthy and convoluted development process, > meeting shifting and sometimes outdated design goals along the way. > TrackingPoint said that its goal is to produce the technology first, and > then find the market and applications once it actually had something ready > to go—and this is what it has done. > > The company is also keenly aware of the potential negative public > perception right now around firearms and firearm manufactures, in the wake > of recent mass-shooting events like the ones in Sandy > Hook<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Hook_Elementary_School_shooting>and > Aurora <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora_shooting>. The three > models of PGF are bolt-action hunting rifles, unwieldy for any kind of > close-quarters work; the tracking system itself requires patience and care > to line up and fire, and it doesn't appear at all to be the kind of thing a > mass-shooter would employ. At this time, TrackingPoint indicated that it > has no intention of producing a PGF system for anything other than > bolt-action rifles. > > Hunting is a controversial pastime, but it's an undeniably popular one, > and TrackingPoint is dialed in very well at its target market. The price is > relatively high—the rifles start at about $17,000 (a price which includes > an iPad with the TrackingPoint app pre-configured and ready to go), but > that isn't a huge premium over parting together one's own rifle and > precision optics. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Unique Geek" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Unique Geek" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en.
