| | | Technology News | June 2009
US Firm Says Handheld Puke Ray is Ready to Go Lewis Page - The Register UK go to original
A US industrial laser company says it has developed a functional puke-ray system, ideal for use by cops or military personnel wishing to take down their opponents without shooting them. The firm proposes to issue the "non lethal light fighting technology" in two form factors - light-sabre/torch and blaster-pistol.
The so-called Dazer Laser™ technology comes from Laser Energetics Inc, of New Jersey, which has been supplying more conventional laser equipment since 1991. Now, however, the company is pleased to announce its new Defender™ and Guardian™ chunder-beam weapons.
According to Laser Energetics' statement:
These non-lethal weapons have the ability to control the threat at ranges of 1 meter to 2400 meters (model dependent). The Dazer Laser™ - Light Fighting Technologies - emit a green “eye safe” laser beam, that is shaped into approximately a 1 foot to 8 foot Dazer Zone™ (model dependent) which when focused on the threats eyes, the threats vision is temporarily impaired, their balance is effected, and they become affected by nausea. This controls the threat making it difficult for them to manoeuver. The Ultimate Non – Lethal Weapon.
"This life saving non-lethal weapon will help all branches of the military, law enforcement, correctional facilities, security, border patrol, piracy control, homeland security, airport security and much more," says Laser Energetics CEO Robert Battis.
Battis says that his regurge-ray weapons are better than the well-known Taser electrojolt stungun as they have a longer effective range and aren't single-shot. If an embattled cop, soldier etc. misses the target at first he can simply swing the dazzle-beam onto his opponent's face and leave him slipping and stumbling helplessly in a self-generated chunky puddle.
The Defender™ is the ray-pistol model, perhaps effective to 2400m; the Guardian™ is the cylindrical job which emits its belly-scrambling dazer rays from one end like a torch. The Guardian™ will work out to 100m, according to the Laser Energetics pdf brochure. Both models also have a "searchlight" illumination mode - presumably without the nauseating special sauce. There's no word yet on price.
It seems that there may be countermeasures that would have some effect against Dazer™-toting government goons. The company specifies that both models "can control the threat with the threat's eyes shut, making it difficult for them to manoeuvre". No mention is made of tactical possibilities involving mirrors, reflective sunglasses etc. |
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