A high-speed criminal car chase is always risky: the chase can result in a fatal collision, endangering innocent civilians in the process. To flip the odds in safety's favor, one company has created a GPS device-firing cannon called "Starchase" that can stick onto an assailant's vehicle and allow officers to track the car long after the initial chase it over.
Similar to a T-shirt cannon used in a sports stadium, Starchase is a compressed-air gun mounted to the front of a patrol car that contains sticky GPS "bullets." The bullets can adhere to the surface of the car in front of the cannon once launched. With the press of a button, the cannon grill flips open, and the Starchase GPS projectile hurls towards the car, all the while beaming back real-time GPS coordinates to a computer or phone long after the criminal speeds away.
That makes it possible for the police to avoid a dangerous high-speed chase and might even up the chances of catching the criminal later, after they've let their guard down and slowed their vehicle. This increases the chance of catching the crook, who shouldn't be able to have time to get out of the car to remove the device, as the suspect will still be pursued by nearby officers.
It all sounds too good to be true, which it kind of is — since each Starchase system costs $5,000 and each bullet $500 in taxpayer money.
The Starchase system is currently being tested by police departments in select states for a six month trial period. There have been a few kinks so far, as a recent news clip revealed only one out of four Starchase bullets stuck to a parked patrol car, which is like throwing away $1,500 in one go. There go our tax dollars.
Via CNet
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