Startup company Yardarm looks to improve the safety of police officers and the public via their wireless sensor that can track and monitor firearms in real time.
The Yardarm Sensor fits in the base of a police officer's sidearm and can not only keep track of each time the gun is fired, but the location, the direction the officer pointed the gun when firing, and when the officer removed the gun from his holster, according to The Verge.
Other officers will be able to access collected information from a mobile app, which gives them a chance to respond when their fellow officer is in danger.
The Capitola, California-based company describes its sensor as the "world's first sensor for firearms," adding that the device is aimed at not only protecting policemen, but also to ensure the public that officers are using their weapons responsibly, Gizmag reported.
Features of the Yardarm Sensor include a programmable microcontroller, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a gyroscope. The device can connect with computer-aided dispatch (CAD) centers and real-time crime centers (RTCC), as well as smartphones, tablets and laptops. Private security firms and the military will also be able to use the sensor.
Yardarm came into being shortly after the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings in 2012, and the introduction of its sensor takes place just months after the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Miss., The Verge reported. The sensor's unveiling also follows one week after the company started testing the device with police departments in Corrollton, Texas and Santa Cruz, Calif. The sensor is also scheduled to make an appearance at a police conference in Orlando, Fla., this week, where Yardarm will hold a demonstration for the device.
While the technology won't be able to tell why a cop drew his weapon or how the situation was handled before deadly force was used, police may hesitate to pull out their weapons if they know their guns are being tracked.
Yadarm said it will finish field tests for the sensor this year and will begin market trials in early 2015, Gizmag reported. The first round of deliveries will be made once market trials are completed.
The company has yet to reveal information on the sensor's price.
