Colorado teenager designs a Smart Gun that uses a fingerprint sensor to fire

Today’s teens have to undergo a lot of stress that really no other generation had to endure. With threats and stresses of cyberbullies to constant fears of mass shootings, kids in America have very adult things to worry about and fear, beyond just their homework or that basketball game coming up against the school’s rivaling team. Well, leave it to one teenager to not let himself be a victim, but instead of becoming a revolutionist in gun safety, he created Smart Gun that utilizes a fingerprint sensor that could change the safety standards forever.

Kai Kloepfer birthed the idea this of a Smart Gun in an advanced science research seminar when he was just a young sophomore in High School. He designed the fingerprint sensor to be on the grip of the handgun. The sensor would then in turn recognize the fingerprint of the owner, but like smartphone technology for unlocking your phone. The feature provided an added layer of defense against firearm accidents where non-owners of the firearm endanger themselves or others– allowing only the owner to be able to activate the firearm.

The proposal went on to earn him a $50,000 grant to work towards his project, while also garnering some local fame and a highlight on Uproxx’s Luminaries. He continues to crowdsource for funding this pursuit to adapt the prototype to a live firearm. Most people have now heard his message and the goal is to get these smart guns into the hands of gun owners. While he collaborates with Visionworks in San Diego to advance the prototype to a metal gun model, he seeks support from believers to make this revolutionary idea happen.