Microchip operated gun shoots only from owner's hands

Mario Gazziro, shooting a prototype of his gun  (image from Folha de São Paulo)

In the film District 9 the alien “prawns” shoot weapons that work only with alien biology rendering them useless in the hands of humans. It’s a somewhat bizarre science fiction film but is apparently the inspiration for the latest research of Mario Gazzira of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). He has developed a gun which fires only in the hands of its owner thanks to a radio detection feature similar to that used for example on the São Paulo subway system to scan passenger travel passes.

The aim is to reduce accidental and non-accidental deaths by reducing the use of guns by third parties. Here’s how it works:

(image from Folha de São Paulo)

The gun will only fire when it detects a specific and unique chip which muct be embedded in the user's finger.



 The gun has a built in sensor which enables or disables the gun depending on whether or not te radio identification is successful similar to how turnstiles work on the underground system.












For the process to work the gun owner has to undergo microsurgery, something Mario Gazzira already did approximately one year ago in order to prove the technology works.

Not sure this will significantly reduce gun crime in São Paulo but from a technological point of view it's an interesting invention.

Getting used to car crashes in São Paulo

When I first got here I saw quite a few car crashes and thought it was a coincidence but then I got used to them and realised that the screech + bang combo is part and parcel of daily life in Sampa. Mostly I've seen low speed bumps which have taken off wing mirror, scratched bumpers or dented the bodywork but there are lots of more serious incidents.



According to the 2008 figures published by the University of São Paulo, Department of Transportation there are on average 70,9 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles in Brazil which means more than 35,000 people die in road accidents every year. To put that in context the we are talking 15 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles in the US and 7 per 100,000 in the UK so without exaggerating it's fair to say safe road safety is not exactly the same as back home.

Here are 3 of the high profile ones that the São Paulo media picked up on in the past 30days:

08/08/2011 Lorry that somehow managed to fall from one motorway on to another below it at Raposo Tavares in North West São Paulo

30/07/2011 - Car which overturned and killed a pedestrian close to my house in Vila Madalena

09/07/2011 Porsche being driven at 150km/h in a residential area of Itaim Bibi hits car that drove through a red light at night (a common and accepted practice to avoid theft and carjacking)

I won't go into the details but all 3 drivers responsible for each incident were able to walk away from their vehicles unharmed. Unfortunately the same can't be said of the people they hit.

I have a driving license but I've never owned a vehicle and something tells me this is not the best city to get back into driving...