Paintball Sentry Gun

107

 

Do you live in a rough neighborhood? Instead of getting a dog for you backyard have a look at this Paintball Sentry Gun (http://www.paintballsentry.com). When you go out for the day just turn it on and you will be totally protected. When you return you will probably have to escort a few kids out from behind your tree where they took cover but that is a small price to pay for piece of mind. 🙂 There isn’t much detail on the operation but it seems like a camera looks for movement and fires at it. I am amazed at how fast it can move and how accurate it fires!

 

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107 Comments


  1. The gun seems to have a laser pointer mounted on it, so I wonder if the software tracks both the target and the gun sight laser spot, then moves the gun mount until the spot is on the target; firing when the two are coincident. Using a sighting spot like this could avoid the Z problem i.e. depth tracking.



  3. it doesn’t work that way bill. it simply aims at the average location of motion from the webcam. what makes it perform better than the others is how quickly and accurately it anticipates moving targets. it’s all in the software.


  4. Airsoft two days ago
    USB Missle yesterday
    Paintball today.

    I sense a theme here.

    I guess you support the 2nd amendment21st century edition,

    “The Right to Bear Computer Direct Arms”!


  5. That’s very cool, but at this point I’d be really leery of making it work with real guns. The BATFE will come down on you like a ton of bricks for building a machine gun. (10 years/$10k)

    That said, I’d get my SOT 2 and start trying to become part of the military industrial complex because that is one badass setup.


  6. what are you talking about jeff? if i sell it without a gun, how is it not purely the customers fault if they put a real gun on it? and what’s SOT 2?


  7. Hi David, Oh I see now (The red flash of the pointer reflecting on the target was just coincidence then :))
    Still, It’s very impressive.



  10. That’s really impressive, both in hardware and software. Just make sure your customers are well aware of the dangers of something that fires anything without human intervention, even paintballs. I mean: there’s still no such AI that would prevent blinding the neighbor’s dog or his 5 yrs old son if they trespassed while playing; that could put you in big trouble.


  11. Where do I sign? Theres a kid next door who deserves the raw end of this paintball gun!


  12. xyz. i don’t see how anything that happens with it while it’s in their hands is anywhere near my problem. that’s like saying if i modify my car, make it shoot rockets, one of the rockets hurts someone, it’s toyota’s fault.


  13. David, You have a great start to a project is very cool. I love it! I can already see the attraction to it in scenario paintball. Find a way to feed it a case of paintballs and you have a monster. However you shouldn’t be so naive of the possible liability. You could be sued for any reason and even if the court ruled in your favor, the legal fees of your defense could bankrupt you, the judge could order you to cease and desist the production, etc. At the very least, even in game applications, it’s going to need a kill switch in the hands of a player or referee for safety reasons.


  14. yea, there will be a RF keyfob that friendly team will have. wouldn’t having the customer sign a waiver eliminate all liability if the waiver is worded strongly enough? it could simply say, “The use of this product, in any way, is not advisable and in doing so, i ______ forfeit any right to sue [seller]for any reason whatsoever.” signed, _________



  17. Thats fuc*** awesome. Need one for the neighbors cat 😉


  18. Here is where you get in trouble with the ATF:

    The ATF is VERY unforgiving and EXTREMELY strict when it comes to interpreting the 1934 NFA (National Firearms Act).

    I won’t quote it, but it defines a machine-gun as any firearm which fires more than one shot per function of the trigger. On an electronic device like this, the trigger becomes whatever button you use to activate the system. I GUARANTEE, that is how they would define it because people have already gotten into trouble for making devices where you simply pressed a red button and the gun fired multiple shots.

    Now, the real kicker. The NFA also defines a machine gun as “any parts that can be readily ASSEMBLED to fire more than one shot per function of the trigger.”

    For example, if you possess an AK-47 receiver (square piece of sheet metal) and you drill one hole in it and also happen to possess the FA internal parts, the ATF will arrest you and charge you with “constructive intent” to build a machine gun. Parts kits builders have been a big target in the past.

    So how does this apply to you and any of your potential customers? Say some of your customers also happen to be gun enthusiasts like me (yes, I plan on buying your gadget when it is released, assuming the ATF doesn’t rain on your parade). If they really wanted to, the ATF could charge anyone with possession of a machine gun if they possessed any normally semi-automatic firearm and your device at the same time.

    I’m not being paranoid. Do your own research on this if you don’t believe me. But PLEASE. Do not mess around with the ATF. They will ruin your life if you give them half a chance. I recommend you do some serious consultation with an attorney who knows gun laws.

    Best of luck in your endeavors.

    -Andy


  19. I know the name of a good Houston attorney if you want to talk to him. let me know. You hackedgadgets mods are perfectly welcome to give david my email address if he requests it.


  20. SOT stands for Special Occupations Tax, btw. Basically, it means you can build new machineguns without paying an individual tax on each one. You can only sell them to military, leos, or other SOTs.


  21. @ Andy: if i’m selling it w/out a gun. aren’t i in the clear? isn’t it the n the customers fault if they put a real gun on it?


  22. Will it keep the neighbors cat from crapping in my yard?


  23. You might be OK but I’d take nothing for granted if I were you. (Especially if you make it for an Airsoft Glock and you have a real Glock.) If your really serious get a good gun law attorney and check out the BATFE’s website. You can download a PDF of all the gunlaws including the NFA.

    FWIW I wrote a big long post to reply to you the first time around but it got eaten. Andy, however, has put it much better than I did.

    The BATFE is bad Juju, be very careful. Even if you contact them and get a letter saying that your product is not a machine gun its no guarantee. They may change their mind later on, not tell you about it, and show up with a couple news crews and a swat team to arrest you. Google Cavarms and Akins accelerator for a start. They also like to start insane grudges that no one can make sense of like Reds Trading Post.

    This is a .gov agency that was handing out leathermans engraved with “Always Think Forfeiture” to trainees.

    Good Luck!


  24. “# Andi Says:
    July 8th, 2008

    Will it keep the neighbors cat from crapping in my yard?”

    Definitely. It should keep the raccons and squirrels down as well. 😉

    David, how does this thing react when a robin or something flys past it? Have you knocked anything flying out of the air with it yet?


  25. So what happens when it runs out of paintballs?


  26. @ Jeff; it’s not that good. it may hit a squirrel if it’s close enough but not a bird.


  27. I’d suggest having a failsafe “color”. Like a flourescent orange, for paintball or airsoft, incase of serious injury someone could flash an orange flag or something and it would ceasefire. Probably the same color orange that several hunters use for safety reasons.


  28. David, if you also happened to own a gun that would fit on the carriage and they decided to classify it as I’ve described, I’m pretty sure they would charge you with building an unregistered mg. Also, I’m pretty sure that a big part of your market is going to be gun nuts like me, so all those people might be charged, as well. I practically drooled when I saw that video.

    Realistically, you might go several years before anything happened. Eventually, if your product sold well, your product would come to the ATF’s notice. Probably from some dummy putting a real gun on it and posting the video of THAT on youtube. At that point, the ATF would get ahold of one and send it to their “testing branch.”

    You do not want anything you make to go to the testing branch. They basically follow the Spanish Inquisition’s motto of “You’re guilty, we just haven’t figured out how, yet.”

    I would highly recommend that you test this device with a number of different popular guns to be ABSOLUTELY certain that your device cannot be used with a real firearm straight from the factory. Thats just my uninformed opinion, tho. You really need some professional legal advice.

    I’m not trying to discourage you or scare you. I want you to do this and succeed because I want to BUY one! You just need to be aware of the danger involved here.


  29. Well done! Great invention.


  30. What if you were to modify it so that it would technically only fire one shot per press of the button, very rapidly? It couldn’t be considered a machine gun at that point, right?



  32. # Gerard Says:
    July 9th, 2008

    What if you were to modify it so that it would technically only fire one shot per press of the button, very rapidly? It couldn’t be considered a machine gun at that point, right?
    ================================================================

    No, the ATF will say that whatever button you press to activate the whole system becomes the trigger. Once the gun fires a second shot, they’ll say that makes two shots for a single trigger function. They’ll say that the button you pressed on the computer is the actual trigger, not the trigger on the gun itself.


  33. Idea: have a handheld wireless trigger. The gun is constantly tracking someone but only fires every time you press the pretty button.


  34. grant, the whole idea is for it to do it all by itself. if i have to monitor it or tell it when to fire the it loses that quality.


  35. David: I’m aware of that, but as Gerard says it could still be considered a machine gun if the computer is considered the trigger.


  36. Grant, i really don’t care if it’s considered a machine gun or if it is illegal in any way. basically what i want it to be takes priority over it’s legality. i wouldn’t even waste my time with a RC paintball gun. it’s autonomy is what makes it special (IMO). so, if it turns out my finished product is illegal in any way i’ll just loophole out of it. people will just end up with them with no evidence a sale was made. whatever it takes.


  37. The border patrol needs these things. Setting on poles, just inside the border fence. Can this be adapted to track, something like a mussel flash, instead of relative movement? IR? etc?


  38. Carlos, it would see a muzzle flash as movement.


  39. Is there any way to calculate distance of an object? If so one could adjust arch of the paintball gun slightly for far away targets.


  40. Grant, it cant see well enough to see far enough to have any need to arc the paintball.


  42. that is totally awesome…is there somewhere i can worship you at?


  43. David, it looks like you’re sitting on a gold mine here. Don’t blow off the good advice you’re getting. At least consult a good attorney.


  44. Great idea. I want it for cats. I would want to change the paint ball to a garden hose with a pressure nozzle. b


  45. Very cool, but paintballs aren’t much of a deterrent (for people anyway). Additionally, someone could just run the gun dry by waving around a tree branch and then steal the sentry gun (probably more costly than most things in my house anyway ;)). For those who think it would be cool to hook it up to a case of paint, well, you had better hook it up to a large scuba tank as well since it will run dry on air long before that case is done.

    Hmmm… you could also walk up to the gun with a wooden “shield” and steal the gun.

    Still, it’s a very (very very) cool idea for scenario paintball games! Great work!



  47. so, if it turns out my finished product is illegal in any way i’ll just loophole out of it. people will just end up with them with no evidence a sale was made. whatever it takes.
    ———————————————
    People with a hell of a lot more money than you have tried and failed to “loophole out of” things like this. And I’m just referring to the gun laws. The whole “no evidence a sale was made” thing will get you into even more trouble. How are you going to hide the money you’re making selling this thing, money laundering? Income tax evasion? And then there are the inevitable lawsuits. Even if you win them, you’ll spend a hell of a lot of money defending yourself. The army doesn’t even use motion activated weapons.
    Besides, this has been done before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKGcgeBMZXY&NR=1 I’ll bet anything that someone already has this patented. The technology, and the idea, have been around for years.


  48. Bob, i’ve seen that video (and a few others like it) and none of their projects are competition. I’m also well aware there may be nothing to patent. the bottom line though, is it works better than the others out there an people want to buy it. I’m also aware the military wouldn’t touch this with a 10 ft pole because of how extremely dangerous it could be. i’ll talk to a lawyer and together we’ll figure out A; if it is legal and B; if it’s not, what needs to be done to get around the bullshit laws which weren’t even written with this in mind. the moral of the story here is that when an idiot rear-ends you, you don’t go suing ford, you sue the owner/driver. so, in that same respect, if some idiot does something stupid with my product it’s THEIR problem and THEIR obviously at fault.


  49. That is cool. I want one just so I can use it against the critters at night.


  50. David, the law is what it is. And the ATF is what it is. I don’t like it any more than you do, but if you just plow right on ahead and don’t cover your ass, you will regret it. And if you can, I would edit out one of the previous comments you just made. Part of the whole CYA.

    Like I said before, you may be just fine if no real firearm can be fit on your device without modification. But the key adjective is “readily-convertible.”

    Who decides how close something has to be before it’s “readily convertible?” The ATF decides. This is why even semi-auto open-bolt gun designs are illegal to manufacture for civilian sale, these days. They DO NOT fire full-auto straight from the factory, but they can be “readily converted” to do so, according to the ATF.

    Your system may or may not fall into that category. This is where a lawyer and lots of testing and luck with the ATF will come into play.

    If the only thing your system needs in order to fit a real gun on it is some plain old hardware store nuts and bolts, you might have a problem. If, on the other hand, your system required someone with a machine shop and access to some expensive tools and about 12 man-hours to make an adapter, then you’d probably be fine.

    Then again, the definition of “readily convertible” is COMPLETELY ARBITRARY. So it is entirely possible (and it has happened) that the ATF will send you an opinion letter stating that they believe your system is NOT a mg one year… and then three years later send you another letter changing their mind and ordering you to stop sale and surrender any units you have. And demand your sales receipts. Google akins accelerator for this exact situation.

    This is the situation. I’ve given my advice. I strongly suggest you take it. But its your life and freedom to risk, so do what you will.
    Best of luck,

    -Andy


  51. appreciate the advice Andy. I’ve got new pics and specs of the newest version on my site (at the bottom of the project history page). it’s got me pretty exited as a lot has been improved. let me know what you think.


  52. David, looks awesome. I’m just about done building my 3 axis cnc router. I should be able to machine aluminum and plastic with it, no problem.

    If you’d like, I’ll machine parts for you at cost+ something reasonable like 5%-10% It looks like you already have CAD drawings of it, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to do.

    I would, of course, be willing to sign whatever Non-disclosure agreement, etc you wanted. Let me know.

    One way you might be able to avoid legal trouble is switching out that univeral holder with a gun-specific mount. Sell the system and the mounts separately.

    Let me know,

    -Andy


  53. Andt, just email me. click ‘contact me’ on my site. it would be kinda retarded to continue this on a public forum.


  54. Dude, one word. DARPA. Okay, fine, it’s an acronym, but still. They offer funding for stuff like this.


  55. I like the Portal turret sample ‘I see you’ as it boots up.

    Nice touch.


  56. If you need to get past one.. Use a heavy + medic or a Demoman! Apart from that, Great Idea 😛 Though slightly dangerous lol.
    I like it!


  57. Just a thought, but looking at the latest pics on the site, I don’t think the guberment is going to like a mini M16 mounted. While this project is extremely cool, that picture would definitely open up a lot of eyes if this project goes commercial.


  58. SPY SAPPIN’ MY SENTRY!


  59. LOL Only problem with this sentry is when you leave your house and turn it on, someone can just go up behind it and take it LOL


  60. Stupid Engineer, that’s a horrible spot for a sentry.


  61. David… Don’t listen to these armchair lawyers.

    It’s perfectly legal to sell automatic paintball markers, therefore it’s legal to sell a thing that aims an automatic paintball marker.

    Give me a break with the ATF stuff… The ATF raid any paintball games lately?


  62. David, I have wanted one of these things since Team Fortress. Kudos…Don’t listen to the ATF singers. They don’t know what they are talking about. Market this thing overseas…30 years ago my father worked for a company that made huge non-lethal deterrent devices. The device exploded and dispersed sand (yeah it hurts) to drive back attackers/trespassers of oil refineries and oil wells. The company made millions off of the devices. Although they are no longer in use, a device such as yours might be just the ticket for a small company wanting to protect its assets with little overhead. In some countries ‘what happens in the sand stays in the sand’ if ya know what I mean. Keep up the good work and I can’t wait to see the video of the next version.


  63. For the love of god… The ATF thing would go away if the product is made to be a complete paintball/airsoft assembly, or at the very least if using a modular system make the triggering system incomparable with regular firearms. You would probably want this anyway since it would give greater stability. The ATF regulates firearms, paintball/airsoft guns are not firearms.

    As for using it as a theft deterrent, that I am not sure of… both laptops are high value items for theft. Move the image processing stuff onto a DSP and get rid of the laptop, maybe. With the laptop not so sure.


  64. The army doesn’t even use motion activated weapons.
    —-

    I know it’s not the same but the Navy does with their Phalanx CIWS. Very cool stuff.


  65. David, I want 1 for paintball. let me know how much the plans are. I am ready Now.

    Have marker will play.



  67. So we’ve come to the point where machines can kill people on their own? That’s just great.


  69. David,

    Was that previous comment to be followed by maniacal laughter?


  70. Stick some rockets on it by hitting it a few times


  71. On the topic if this being used as a deterrent system, paintballs would be a annoyance at most, and could potentially be blocked. Pepperballs however would be quite functional for that purpose, as they work quite like paintballs even fire from paintball guns.


  72. Something everyone seems to be overlooking with concerns being used with real firearms, weight and recoil. Of course both may be less of an issue with handguns, but I could imagine a real firearm causing the whole unit to flip over, (though v.6 looks potentially more stable). Suppose you design it with that in mind and make it so that the system is not sturdy/stable enough to withstand realistic recoil. Other fun ideas, RFID IFF, target recognition/selection (basically choosing whether or not to fire based on targets shape/size. Say you don’t want it wasting ammo or air on animals (unless you’d rather be shooting at them).


  73. Market the tripod an tracking system, leave the “weapon” up to the purchaser. Most likely, you’ll end up with a buhzillion dollars from what ever government. I would add a remote on/off too. sheesh im drunk weeeee!


  74. HACKS!!!

    Definitely aimbot, you can see the screen shake:P

    That is awesome though! Well done!



  76. Hi David, I have noticed you are currently struggling to make the seventh prototype. May I make a suggestion, you have an excellent product with version 6, why don’t you sell the software, plans and component list electronically via pay pal, the advantage here is that you don’t have to pay for any components up front. This will help finance your future prototypes. Also make it a condition that if anyone works on the hardware or software, that they must update you and you still have the right to implement those changes into your prototypes(more heads are better than one!). I don’t think your product will make you ultra rich but it can make you money if you’re smart with how you sell it. I have worked with a lot of inventors and I must say they all suffer from a common theme, that is they are forever working on the product and never let it go!, that’s what makes the difference between an inventor and an innovator, the innovator invents then commercializes and becomes rich from their inventions, while the inventor lives in his shed inventing and dreams of becoming rich! Hope this helps!


  77. Northstar, i would sell the software with plans but there’s nothing stopping it from being pirated. next thing i know the whole thing’s pirated and i’m out of the loop.


  78. I understand, this is always a problem however, being the inventor you should be first to market and have the superior product. I have sadly seen to many inventors get caught up in product development and never make it to market. You will always have people making this type of product, but you have a head start on them, you just have to capitalize on it or you’ll miss the boat and someone else will sell their’s first. If it were me building this product, I would focused on selling version 6 in a box, I’m sure you would have a few real buyers here, that will give you money to advance your technology, setup a company and go from there, I’m sure this won’t be the only great product you will invent! .. cheers


  79. Northstar, you missed my point. let me explain it another way. lets say i sold the software with plans to 5 people. one of those people puts the whole package on the piratebay or mininova. all future customers can now just get the package from there and i get to pat myself on the back for f*cking myself. then, as if that wasn’t awesome enough, i get to have my inbox flooded with tons of people who got something for nothing but want tech support on it. awesome! In another scenario, i could wait till i find a sure fire way to prevent the software from being pirated, THEN sell it.. that would be a lot smarter. if someone knows of a way that can’t be cracked, then i’ll sell it.


  80. Sorry David, I get your point, however I think you have missed mine ….. you will never stop people hacking your software, copying it and selling it, that is the nature of the beast, if there is a solution, Micro$oft would bought it by now! I think the main reason people copy software is due to it’s price, if you have a cheap price for your software, hardware and plans I think you would sell them more often than people would copy it, plus you could push the prototype updates and registration with you to get support of which you could charge a subscription fee for. I think your initial pricing indicators are very affordable, I would spend $500-$700 US buying the hardware and software off you, it’s really going to be your call dude, good luck!


  81. There are hardware based options. i.e. special keys required (not house keys) to operate the computer unit. I’m unsure of the cost though.


  82. If software piracy really bothers you, you probably best off never releasing it ever. Copy protection can be hacked, HASPs can be cracked. About the only way you can stop piracy is to offer something that cannot easily be pirated, and is of such value that people don’t want to pirate it or it would cost more to pirate it. Some ideas for that value added could be a custom PCB. Tooling costs for PCBs are quite high, so what costs you $5/board for 100 will cost me $100-150/board or so for 1 or 2.

    I am also a DSP engineer specializing in TI’s TMS320 series (but work with others too), if you are interested in embedding this please let me know and I will email you, perhaps I can help.


  83. there any diy plans of this??


  84. goddam south koreans already have shit tons of these on the border. they have mounted them onto autonomous atv’s.

    i use to be able to hustle across the border and score some poontang. now i’m stuck here in the freezing north. i’m soooo ronery.


  85. Can you set one up to just shoot one of my neighbors? I live in a good neighborhood, with just one problematic family.


  86. How does your auto turret handle slow moving targets in all of your demos the target moves fast, has he tried slow walking……


  87. When can I get two of those guns?


  90. you should sell your design to the shipping industry to protect ocean tankers from modern day pirates.


  91. just change tracking system to track thermaly in marine environment.


  92. Thats awsome , one question , how do you get up close to it to turn it off



  94. Awesome work. Best wishes selling it, and save up for a good product liability lawyer!


  95. this is cool. The only problem is what if a animal walks by.


  96. LOL. That is a feature! The neighbours cat will no longer be using your flower bed as a litter box. 🙂


  97. The site is very cluttered. Can you send me a link ?


  98. We need these loaded with pepper balls and mounted on poles, and stationed along the Mexican border.




  101. Just mount an ugly pink water pistol on it an you’re on the save side of the law – i guess.
    Would be a great surprise for neighbours citties…
    And place the computer inside your house and the gun on your roof, so no one can easily steal your work.


  102. I have 30 acres of land with fruit trees. I’d love to set this up to keep the racoons out of the trees. I would definately purchase one.



  104. Did you fell when you got hit on the trampoline

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