By Ryan Singel
The Department of Homeland Security is funding the creation an LED flashlight that uses powerful flashes of light to temporarily blind, disorient and incapacitate people. Homeland Security's Science and Technology arm hopes government agents can use the "light saber" to arrest people on planes and at the borders without using traditional weapons.
The LED Incapacitator uses a range-finder to measure the distance to a target's eyes and then unleashes continually changing, multi-color light pulses that both blind and disorient the person. Intelligent Optical Systems, a small company in Torrance, CA, is developing the weapon with money from Homeland Security's Science and Technology division, which thinks its possible to have the weapon deployed to cops, National Guard troops and border agents by 2010.
The company's president Bob Lieberman says the tool would be perfect for confronting border jumpers."You don't want to hurt or kill them, just take them into custody," Lieberman was quoted as saying by a DHS newsletter. "With this, they don't need to know English to comply."
The tool could be scaled up to make a light bazooka that could subdue a crowd, but the company is focusing on miniaturizing the device to make it resemble a traditional D-cell Maglite. Right now the prototype is a non-svelte 15 inches by 4 inches wide.
But first the company's chief scientist Vladimir Rubtsov wants to discover more powerful patterns and colors, which he'll get this fall with tests on volunteers at Penn State University's Institute for Nonlethal Defense Technology.
"There's one wavelength that gets everybody," Lieberman said, according to the newsletter. "Vlad calls it the evil color."
THREAT LEVEL can only wonder how long will it be until war protesters and Rio Grande swimmers start wearing reflective clothing?
I wonder if Lucas said that they could use the term Light Saber? Can someone say copyright?
What is your opinion?
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