flickering pictures

IBM has patented an armoured body suit that actually DODGES FREAKING BULLETS. Or at least it will, if it ever gets built.

For you geekier readers out there, here’s an excerpt from the patent explaining how this is supposed to work, via the United States Patent and Trademark Office:

A method of protecting a target from a projectile propelled from a firearm comprises detecting an approaching projectile, continuously monitoring the projectile and transmitting an actual position of the projectile to a controller, computing an estimated projectile trajectory based upon the actual position of the projectile, determining an actual position of a target with a plurality of position sensors and a plurality of attitude sensors, determining whether the estimated projectile trajectory coincides with the actual position of the target, and triggering a plurality of muscle stimulators operably coupled to the controller and to the target when the estimated projectile trajectory coincides with the actual position of the target, wherein the muscle stimulators stimulate the target to move in a predefined manner, and wherein the target moves by an amount sufficient to avoid any contact with the approaching projectile.

Long story short, it DODGES FREAKING BULLETS.

So this raises an interesting question. Gun advocates have always argued (controversially) that the best way to keep people from shooting each other is to give guns to everyone — bad guys, they argue, will be deterred by the knowledge that if they try to mug someone on the street, they’ll soon be taking fire from every grandmother, mailman and taxi driver who happens to be passing by. But here’s a technology that — if it works — could finally make guns and other projectile weapons obsolete, taking the NRA’s “from my cold dead hands” mentality down with them. What would this mean for warfare and law enforcement? And would muggers just start robbing people with cattle prods and mustard gas?

Here’s a better question: is there even the slightest chance in hell that this could actually work?

Image via an extremely — and unintentionally — silly post at The Reagan Wing.
Thanks, Nick!

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