- Smartgun
A smartgun is a weapon (usually a handgun) fitted with a
fire-control system . The defining feature of a smartgun is the ability to accurately convey where the weapon is aimed at (usually via some sort ofHead-up display ), and, in the more advanced versions, to target itself within certain limitations set by the users. The purpose of such systems is to allow the precise aiming ofautomatic fire and the reduction offriendly fire casualties , as in theUnited States Army 's real-worldLand Warrior program.Due to the difficulties involved in developing such a system, the weapon is still mainly fictional, being common in
cyberpunk and otherscience fiction genres. The science fiction concept of a smartgun has its origins in much earlier works ofmilitary science fiction , such asStarship Troopers andThe Forever War . The term "smartgun" as applied to such systems appears in popular culture at least as early as the 1980s.Aliens demonstrated its capabilities with the M56 SmartGun, a handheld light machine gun. This weapon was connected to the user's Head-Up Display, showing where the weapon is aimed. It was also equipped with a motion-sensitive auto-tracking system, capable of autonomous and accurate targeting of moving objects (the real weapon was a mere
MG42 with aSteadicam harness).References
* Cameron, James - "Aliens" - 20th Century Fox, United States, 1986
* Pondsmith, Michael - "Cyberpunk 2020: The Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future" - R. Talsorian Games, United States, 1990
* FASA Corp. - "Shadowrun: Where Man Meets Machine" - FASA Corporation, United States, 1990
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