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Homeland Security's New Flashlight Blinds and Disorients

by Terrence O'Brien on July 27, 2007 at 02:37 PM

Homeland Security Invests in Weaponized Flashlight
If you've ever stared directly into a flashlight, you've definitely experienced temporary blindness and disorientation, right? Well, multiply that feeling by about a million, and you've got a super flashlight that the Department of Homeland Security is funding.

Developed by a small California-based company called Intelligent Optical Systems, the LED based device is not intended to help you find firewood while camping. Rather, it's meant to incapacitate perps. The flashlight uses a range finder to determine the distance to the victims eyes, then blasts them with a super-bright, continually-changing burst of colored light that blinds and disorients.

The light could be used to subdue armed criminals, or stop those caught illegally crossing the border. Or terrorist suspects, which could turn out to be you if you find yourself randomly singled out in an airport security line (so don't get too surly with the TSA peeps).

Perfect for protests, the technology can also be scaled up to bazooka size to quell a crowd!

Well, at least it probably doesn't hurt as much as a taser.

From Slashdot and Wired

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Tags: dhs, flashlight, government, homeland security, HomelandSecurity, intelligent optical systems, IntelligentOpticalSystems, led, Security, Weapons

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