LED Incapacitator

well, some of the lights we all carry will temporarily cause someone to see spots. i think this light takes it up a notch.

http://cbs13.com/national/flashlight.weapon.crowd.2.645991.html

this might be effective against the majority of the population, but if one officer is holding this light against a crowd of 20-100, if one of those people has a dereelight, say, all they'd have to do is point it at the one officer carrying this light to "blind" him... and win.

We've been hearing about this for a long time, but it's cool to see a video of it.

Delta said:

We've been hearing about this for a long time, but it's cool to see a video of it.

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Yeah, I herd about this about three years ago. A Sheriff's office in CA was testing one, but none the less good to see.

It would appear that for $800,000 it has the power to keep people from looking at it.

A bright light will make an aggressor look away. Does this do something else? It doesn't appear so. The docile news babe Brandi Hitt didn't turn away for the ten or so seconds that she stared into it. Could she have advanced on the flashlight dude? I think so, albeit temporarily blinded. It gave the news babe a headache after the fact.

Let's hear it for Darpa and Homeland Defense!

For what it's worth, it would be easy for our flashlight electronics to incorporate random rate strobe. A challenge to makers -any takers?

Bernie

Wow, it made the female reporter see blotches... now that's fierce yo!

I wonder how what kinda situations this light would be practical in, obviously not in any sort of confrontation situations. Perhaps this will end up replacing the interrogation lights in your local police station

They looked like 5mm or 10mm LEDs. If they had researched properly (i.e. come here for advice) it would be less than a quarter of the size.

The first version looked like a mace or something. If you put some spikes on there you could make it more useful, just incase the "bad guy" was unnafected by the light.

So it strobes different colors at different frequencies, etc. While it may make people feel uncomfortable, that news lady wasn't able to stand there and look at it. I think if a criminal was determined they could easy rush an officer, they'd just have to hold their hand out infront of them to block the light source. I guess with time we'll learn if these things are really effective or not.

I say Homeland security needs to contact MilkySpit - he'll make one for them for under $5000 and it'll be even better.

I have a hard time seeing the foe going "Come on pigs, I'll kill you all- oh no! That light... it's... somewhat annoying!! arrrgh!" (crouch to fetal position)

Note that a blinky light, even if they've discovered a magical frequency pattern, can just as readily be replicated by any microcontroller. One photocell and a recording device should give you what you need to copy the concept after a few seconds. It's so easy it'd be difficult to enforce the patent protection; those 20-mode flashlights will now get the "repel" mode for 21 modes. No, our blinky is nothing like your patented blinky process- it has a different name!

If blinky lights can be a weapon, lemme point out how much trouble the world is in because every hacker-nerd or $10 flashlight buyer can now stun people with their dazzler. I initially noted that sort of problem looking on the hardware project board where it seemed like EVERY high school kid wanted to build a home EMP device. It's not possible to do this at home yet, thank god, because apparently dumb kids would be destroying all electronics (TV sets, cars, computers, telecommunications boxes, pacemakers, breathing machines) in 50 ft or 1000 ft or whatever with little fear of being caught and basically making life as we know it impossible as any business from the supermarket to the power grid to the stock exchange could be wiped out for weeks by such an action.

Now that Homeland Security is using flashlights as weapons, how soon before other agencies start to consider other flashlights a threat?

Maybe lights like this should be regulated. We should fill out a form, pay a fee, get a background check, get licensed, etc, before we can carry one? Time for some new flashlight laws!

More realistically, think about TSA confiscating your new SureFire because the strobe is now considered a threat...

I like the part about how Sid Hale says you could replace the prison lighting with these blinky lights and it would halt a riot.

I have an alternate theory. The prisoners are gonna turn it into a "rave" party.

Sweet I seem to be immune to it's effects!
Yeah for red-green colorblindness.

I am sure it would do better in person than the "unedited" footage, but still come on................

Yeah no kidding!

The reporter also seems to be immune to the effect, she was looking into the darn thing trying hard to be incapacitated but was fully able to describe colorfully and creatively the sensations without having to look away for a second.

Also, no wonder they don't want to let the general public to buy it; everyone would find out that it's just a flashlight, one with multiple random strobe frequency and that costs more because the government is paying the bills. An EE grad can make something like this with fifty bucks and half an hour.

I wonder if at least they offer shotgun mounts for them...

She said "it goes very far, out to 20 feet". Since when is 20 feet very far?

The Shadow said:

Now that Homeland Security is using flashlights as weapons, how soon before other agencies start to consider other flashlights a threat?

Maybe lights like this should be regulated. We should fill out a form, pay a fee, get a background check, get licensed, etc, before we can carry one? Time for some new flashlight laws!

More realistically, think about TSA confiscating your new SureFire because the strobe is now considered a threat...

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If the man thinks he can confiscate my flashlight/weapon, he'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!

Live by the flashlight, die by the flashlight!

Viva la lumen!

"Don't dazzle me bro!"

Bernie

$800,000 Dollar Self Defense flashlight?

http://cbs13.com/national/flashlight.weapon.crowd.2.645991.html

I think this whole thing is just another example of overbloated government spending and "research" - it's an $800K flashlight. You know what? If I'm a criminal stopped by a cop who has one of those I can just pull out an M6 and blind him and run. Or just shoot him while he's waiting for me to be disoriented. What a load of ... cattle excrement... :thumbsdow

I'm thinking it probably works only if it blinds you with each color. That explains why it doesn't work in the videos, and its short range (I doubt you could blind someone with a Dereelight @50 feet... well maybe but not w/ something like this.)

It is dissapointing though that the reporter was barely effected... so basically this tool's role would have to be confined to being sure the officer gets off the first shot, not replacing the gun or any other self-defense device.

I still think it would be a lot more effective not to waste 800K, and instead use the slightly less disorienting strobe found on many lights around here already.

Re: $800,000 Dollar Self Defense flashlight?

Isn't that the puke light from a while ago?

"Pardon me sir, could you please stop running toward me, drop the knife in your hand, take off your sun glass and look right into the flashlight, yeah right here, stare at it and don't look away."