USA – -(Ammoland.com)- “Personally, I’ll believe it when I see it,” a product review at the 9To5Mac.com consumer electronics website concludes. EU Editor Ben Lovejoy was talking about SWORD, a smartphone case that “claims to detect weapons and explosives from 40 feet.”
Executive Editor Roger Cheng of CNET explains:
The company has created a case that goes around either an iPhone 8 Plus or Pixel 2 XL and uses the phone’s audio sound waves as a sort of sonar to detect whether someone is carrying a gun, knife or explosive device. The case includes an array of 18 antennas that can create an image profile based on the radio frequency waves… The app can detect whether the person is carrying something dangerous by tapping into its database of weapons and explosive devices.
“SWORD also offers a facial recognition system utilizing the phone’s camera,” he adds. “Once in the system, a SWORD user can pull out the phone and scan the room for any unwanted individuals.”
Per USA Today, the company insists “Since it is using radio waves, there is no radiation like you would have with an X-ray machine” and claims its case is “FCC approved.”
Perhaps, perhaps not. But other dangers come to mind. The whole point of carrying concealed is to preserve privacy as part of an overall defensive posture. Anti-gunners could use the device to harass and even SWAT a gun owner. Criminals could use it to identify who they would need to take out by surprise first. Police could use it to bypass Fourth Amendment search and seizure proscriptions. The company claims Homeland Security is intrigued.
There’s another danger, discouraging people from being armed:
As the United States continues to deal with mass shootings at schools, Oberholzer hopes the device will help people become more proactive when it comes to security. Current proposals to arm teachers or give students clear backpacks are “reactive solutions; the guy is already inside of the school building and already has a weapon,” Oberholzer said.
Actually, if he’s already inside with a weapon, finding out about it without being able to defend against and stop a predator with mass murder on his mind will also be reactive. And not in a good way if all you can do is throw your phone at him.
I read about this product in various media reviews and from the Royal Holdings website (I actually learned about it from a reader tip for an article on ConcealedNation.com). A thought I can’t shake is “Is this for real or are we all being punked?” I agree with the 9To5Mac.com writer who said he’ll believe it when he sees it.
Reports I’ve seen say we can expect a demo this month. If Royal Holdings delivers, it’ll open up a whole new area of privacy and other potential liabilities that need to be identified, explored and addressed.
The company operates under the slogan “Uniting the good.” Millions of gun owners are good. Will this unite or divide?
What do you think?
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Awesome!! Great work mint team, downloading now. Looking forward to using cinnamon 2.0 in all it’s glory.
I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I don’t expect this will rise to the level of batman’s cellphone Sonar mapping invasion from “the dark knight”. I suspect it will struggle to differentiate between a gun and cellphone in someone’s pocket. The most significant hurdle for people trying to abuse this technology will be what to do if they believe they’ve detected a weapon. Your phone says I have a gun? so what? I’ll use my phone to call the police and tell them there’s a crazy person scanning my crotch with his phone, and demanding to look… Read more »
Since nobody has mentioned it yet, this reminds me of the “devices” which the Wynn Hotels were going to install so that “weapons” could not be brought into their buildings without permission. I thought that was wishful thinking, or just plain BS, back then and still do.
Lots of great comments and baseline analysis. One factor I haven’t seen mentioned is the sheer stupidity and wreckless when the promo actually proposed having users “scan” suspicious bags for weapons. The absolute last thing you want to do around a potential explosive device is shoot a bunch of radio waves or other EM radiation at or around it. Also, if these ever hit the street near me I am definitely going to build and distribute countermeasures for anyone who wants one.
This is probably wording that was used to apply for a patent. But there was also a patent awarded for time travel. Neither device has a working model (since they are both impossible).
*disclaimer: I am an RF engineer with 30+ years experience in digital imaging, and self-certified to call “bullshit” when I read it.
even if this is all hype, eventually someone will come up with one. just as with guns, though, once enough people have them, the playing field will be equal even if worse overall.
I’d buy a jammer if one were for sale.
The CNET quote first says it uses “audio sound waves”, then in the next sentence it says it uses “the radio frequency waves” for imaging. Considering the difference between AUDIO sound and RF, it seems the CNET executive editor who wrote it either doesn’t know what he’s talking about, or is perpetuating a hoax.
(If it’s radiating “AUDIO sound waves” as sonar, that means people will be able to hear this gizmo screeching at them.)
Two things. First, this bit: “Since it is using radio waves, there is no radiation like you would have with an X-ray machine” well whatever does this eedjit think “radio waves” are but electromagnetic radiation? By definition that’s what they ARE. X-rays are simply electromagnetic radio waves of a different frequency. Same stuff. How DUMB does this twit think we are? Next: Easy enough to jam or overload….. provide false patterns with other stuff….. strange metal shapes near your carry piece to confuse the critter. Maybe a metal screen attached to your holster to “enhance” the shape of your weapon.… Read more »
If the unit is continuously emitting RF radiation, then long carrying of this device against the body may result in radiation damage to human tissue or could cause cancer.