A big-thinking Slovenian startup has created a curious smart security camera that doesn’t just spy on your visitors, but will actively open fire on potential intruders with paintball pellets – or even tear gas rounds – with “ultra high precision.” What could possibly go wrong?
Another important step towards having Aperture Science sentry turrets.
“Are you still there?”
… Good night.
“Her name is Carolyn.”
Yeah paintballs are totally harmless, when people play paintball they wear full face masks just for shit and giggles. I doubt this thing can correctly aim to avoid hitting someone eyes with every shot, a little dirt in the barrel and just the wind can drastically change a paintballs trajectory. Be ready to pay for some innocent bystander’s eye surgery when you install this thing. Also when it freezes outside those paintballs will be as hard as marbles if they aren’t stored in a heated container.
I used to play paintball 30+ years ago in college, back before high capacity semi-automatic guns were even a thing. Accuracy was way more important back then since you couldn’t just spray an area with hundreds of shots a minute. We quickly learned that not only did dirt etc. in the barrel impact accuracy but the paintballs themselves could as well.
If they sat for a long period of time the liquid paint inside the ball could congeal slightly and stick to one side, throwing off the balance of the ball. So when you shot it, it would spin in a random way and hook noticeably. We learned to spin the balls briefly in a round Tupperware container before using them. That would spread out the paint inside the ball, making them more evenly balanced. The result was noticeably more accurate shots.
I’d expect to see the paintballs shot from this thing to hook quite a bit…
Actual name is painball, not paintball
This product is going to fail. Booby trapping or using force to induce bodily harm remotely is illegal. Im pretty sure people have been charged for building sprinkler systems that shoot at visitors that walk on their lawn.
Paintball probably could win a lawsuit. It can cause bruising and a shot to the eye could cause serious damage.
I was curious about sprinkler traps being illegal. I could only find stories of it happening though, not of people getting in trouble for it. Example article. I think spinklers might be fine, cuz it doesn’t cause bodily harm?
Also a fun, unrelated article I found about a guy who booby trapped his house with all sorts of stuff.
Apparently it’s not illegal in Slovenia
Booby trapping by legal definition is something that can be triggered “indiscriminately” as in a simple pressure plate (for example) could be triggered by a burglar or first responders or anyone or anything even yourself
A system that uses AI to make a determination or awaits for you to review it’s recommendation and make a determination does not immediately fall under the booby trap definition, but it is legally untested
Never thought i’d see words “paintball” and “ultra-high precision” in one sentence… Also, are masks going to be mandatory on the property that has one of these set up? Because someone is going to lose an eye otherwise.
I don’t even play paintball, but The Whiteboard has taught me quite a lot about it. And apparently the inventors of this thing know absolutely nothing about the subject.
High precision paintball is one of two things:
- First strike rounds. They actually have fins. Very unlikely that’s what they’re using.
- Accuracy through volume. If you throw enough paint downrange you eventually hit the target. I guess that’s not technically precision. But it does get the job done.
If brute force ain’t working, you’re not applying enough of it!
Did you know you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science Self-Esteem Fund for Girls? It’s true!
When these are about as accurate as the sensors of half the neighbourhoods’ sensor activated night spotlights, my evening walks are going to get messy.
The same tech could be used to spray a jet of UV marker liquid which is safe and indelible.
Or a paintball filled with such liquid. A paintball would have more range than a liquid spray.
I don’t mind paintball since there is a kind of paintball which MUST be thrown NEAR a suspect with unremovable paint. What I am worrying about is non-human aiming it. Now don’t get me wrong, computer aim can be very good (see: any military defense weapon) but I doubt the startup isn’t cutting corners somewhere.
Edit to add: Maybe a system of confirmation before shooting would also be helpful. Like, when intrusion is detected, the device should confirm whether to shoot or not. But I don’t know how it will work at sleep time.
