Identilock
Identilock is a firearm safety device, created by Michigan engineer Omer Kiyani. Identilock is a gun attachment that completely covers and prevents access to the trigger, which makes it different from other trigger locks on the market. Identilock is attached to the handle of the gun, and is clamped down. It is locked and unlocked with a fingerprint, a biometric scanner which collects and stores up to three fingerprints per device.
History
Omer Kiyani
Omer Kiyani is the inventor of Identilock. He is a mechanical engineer who lives in the state of Michigan, USA. He spent the majority of his career working at Bosch. Omer Kiyani was shot by a gun when he was 16 years old. An unknown gunman fired at Kiyani and his friends one night and the bullet pierced through his left cheek. Omer Kiyani is an avid gun owner, and believes in common sense gun ownership. The stated motivation behind Identilock is having a safer and more secure way to keep a gun around family. Teen suicides and accidental shootings have become a larger problem in recent years. Omer Kiyani decided to focus on developing his own solution to address this problem. Kiyani claims to have created Identilock to curb gun violence in America. On his website Omer Kiyani is quoted as wanting to bring Michigan’s heritage of innovation, ingenuity, and tradition to develop the world's most advanced firearm safety device. Kiyani, like many up and coming entrepreneurs in Detroit, has been receiving help from TechTown, a non-profit organization that provides a basic foundation for new and growing companies.
Technical overview
Design details
Identilock is an engineered trigger lock that is designed to reveal the trigger in less than half a second. It completely covers and prevents access to the trigger until activated by an authorized fingerprint, allowing access to the firearm. It is made of a high end impact resistant polymer, which weighs less than 12 oz. It is about the size of a wallet. Identilock can be categorized as a bio-metric technology or as a gun safety technology, but is not properly included as a smart gun technology because it does not change the operation of a gun. According to inventor Omer Kiyani, Identilock was designed to thwart teenage suicides and prevent accidental shootings in the gun owner’s home.
Biometric scanner
According to the website, Identilock uses fingerprint recognition technology that can store up to three different fingerprints. It can read a stored fingerprint in 360 degrees of rotation. Identilock reveals the trigger when an authorized fingerprint is scanned.
Battery and key
The device is charged with any USB-C compatible charging outlet with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The battery lasts up to 6 months in standby mode and can be unlocked with an override key if necessary. The override key comes bundled with each Identilock and opens the paired Identilock device. The override key would be used if there is an error with the fingerprint scanner or the battery is completely drained and will not open.
Gun application
Identilock works with many popular gun models such as Glock, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson and Colts, etc. Adapters for additional firearms are claimed to be under development.
Perceptions of potential advantages of disadvantages
Advantages
A US federal government study determined that 8 percent of unintentional gun-related deaths could have been prevented by a child safety lock. There were nearly 2,000 accidental gun deaths in 2015. Therefore, Identilock, which is a safety lock, may save this 8 percent according to the government study.
Identilock has the capability to prevent accidental shooting and protect the right to own guns. Identilock is simply an attachment to the gun, not a smart gun. The Identilock attachment does not alter the guns firing capability in any way. It makes no permanent changes to the gun itself.
Disadvantages
Identilock is not a replacement for standard gun safety. All other gun safety procedures and protocols should still be followed. Identilock is meant to be an extra safety feature on top of all the traditional gun safety methods. Identilock does take nearly half of one second to fall off of the gun, for this reason it is not meant to be used in a gun fight. Although there are arguments that misinterpret or exaggerate the impact of Identilock on gun safety.
The problem that causes shootings is the ease of access to guns, which this product would only re-enforce that guns are not the problem. Identilock will push back the increased attention that progressive new gun laws would get and cause the public to forget about the cause of the gun shooting problem. Among the complex problems that cause shootings is the ease of access to guns, and for some this product would only re-enforce that guns are not the problem. Identilock is an engineering solution that may support push back against the increased attention to new gun laws or legislation.
Awards
*Finalist in Accelerate Michigan
- Finalist at TechCrunch battlefiled
- Smart Tech Foundation winner
- Macomb innovation fund winner
- Techtown labs award
- Top 10 Tech companies to watch 2016
Financial overview
Omer Kiyani is the inventor of Identilock and has devoted himself to his product. He is often cited saying, that it is a necessary tool that will help save the lives of children that might encounter an unlocked gun. Omer Kiyani founded and funded Identilock on his own for a couple years until receiving funding to help support his invention. Identilock received $100 thousand grant on September 30, 2016 at an unknown valuation from Macomb Community College. The grant is one of six awards from the 2016 Macomb Innovation fund of $375 thousand total. There were three $100 thousand awards and three $25 thousand awards distributed from this fund in 2016. The Innovation Fund at Macomb Community College is funded by the $100 million J.P. Morgan Chase Innovation fund which has devoted $2.7 million to Detroit area companies and investments that will promote area development.
Influence of Detroit TechTown
Omer Kiyani is a graduate of Detroit's TechTown. "TechTown is Detroit’s most established business accelerator and incubator, offering a full suite of entrepreneurial services for both tech and neighborhood enterprises." TechTown is a non-profit organization that wants to help entrepreneurs grow and make a difference in Detroit in order to strengthen the local economy. Their mission is to “help startup and established businesses develop, launch and grow, while strengthening and diversifying the local economy.” They provide a basic foundation for new and growing companies in need of support. TechTown has given Omer Kiyani a base location to work out of and has given Identilock financial support, business expertise, and marketing support. Wayne State University has also contributed to Identilock's early success.