Criminals using stolen ammunition to commit crimes will now find it tougher with new bullets coming into the market that can only be fired by their owner. Herbert Meyerle from Germany claims to have invented password-protected ammunition, which cannot be used after being stolen.
Meyerle's invention boasts of a modified cartridge that can be fired by the burst of high frequency radio energy. However, the energy can ignite the charge only if a solid-state switch within the cartridge has been activated, and this can only happen if the password entered into the gun using a tiny keypad matches with the one stored in the cartridge.
Meyerle says that cartridges can be programmed with a password to match the purchaser's gun when they are sold, reports New Scientist.
The owner can then set the gun to request the password when it is reloaded, or to perform a biometric check before firing. The gun can also be made to automatically lock itself after a pre-set period of time has passed since the password was entered.
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