Technically, this is the “LED Incapacitator” from Intelligent Optical Systems, but the name “Vomit Flashlight” is more descriptive of its function.
The vomit flashlight is a non-lethal weapon which uses Light Emitting Diodes to blind and disorient opponents. It works by overwhelming the subject with a brilliant light that continuously changes its color and pulse patterns. The strangest thing is that it actually works.
The device uses a built-in rangefinder to set the light output to a safe level.
This animated cross section shows how red, green, and blue LEDs are focused through the optical plate:
The devices are still under development, but should be deployable by 2010. In addition to saving lives, this device may save a few people from being tasered.
The U.S. Air Force has certified the Active Denial System (ADS) as safe after extensive testing.
The Active Denial System fires a beam of three millimeters waves (94 Ghz) at the targets.
The waves are absorbed by the top layers of a persons skin which makes them feel like they are on fire within three to five seconds. The net effect is to encourage the targets to leave the area immediately.
Targets who leave the area of the heat ray will suffer no long-term effects. Targets who somehow manage stay in the area can experience redness and minor blistering.
The Air Force has tested the system over ten thousand times. In all of those tests, there were only six incidents involving blistering and there was only one that involved second-degree burns. That last guy must have been one tough bastard!
The device is a non-lethal, stand-off, electromagnetic weapon which is designed to make the targets feel too ill to fight — without causing long-term damage.
Here is Invocon’s abstract for the show:
This company is developing a non-lethal, stand-off weapon for military and law enforcement personnel that could ultimately work through walls and other non-metallic structures. Through disruption of the vestibular system, the device would render a human temporarily powerless to effectively resist arrest or subjugation without causing permanent physical damage. The first known demonstration of a vestibular response to an electromagnetic stimulus has been performed. This response constitutes the basis of a potential non-lethal weapon. This systems engineering company provides research and product development services related to radio frequency electronics, precision instrumentation, and communication for aerospace and defense customers. Additional funding is sought for research into the effects of the stimulus and potential delivery mechanisms for non-lethal weapons as well as medical diagnostic or treatment applications.
The Marine Corps has a requirement for a non-destructive stun weapon that would render a hostile war fighter ineffective for a period of time. There is significant political and military interest in such a capability. In addition, the ability to remotely incapacitate a human being without permanent damage would be a landmark event in the field of civil law enforcement. The desirability of waging bloodless war to counter threats to national security is virtually limitless since both military and civil authority could determine a priori when and if loss of human life is necessary. IVC proposes to investigate the use of beamed RF energy to excite and interrupt the normal process of human hearing and equilibrium. The focus will be in two areas. (1) Interruption of the mechanical transduction process by which sound and position (relative to gravity) are converted to messages that are processed by the brain. (2) Interruption of the chemical engine which sustains the proper operation of the nerve cells that respond to the mechanical transduction mechanisms referenced in item (1). Interruption of either or both of these processes has been clinically shown to produce complete disorientation and confusion. Second order effects would be extreme motion sickness.
The Navy Opportunity Forum 2007 is being held 7-9 May at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City Virginia.
“…design and fabricate a light-based immobilisation system/deterrent device and integrate it with an unmanned aerial system. This will include any necessary medical research on frequency and amplitude modulation of high-intensity light that will cause immobilisation to all those within the beam.”
I am not sure how a light, even a 7.5 million candlepower strobe light, will paralyze humans. However, if it does work it will be another non-lethal tool for the Army’s growing OOTW (Operations Other Than War) missions.
