Interesting WML concept

[jmjames]

I came across this a few minutes ago (following links on the site of a potential new customer):
http://www.trifectatactical.com/the-merk-light.html

The basic idea is that it uses an accelerometer like is used in a phone to detect the position of the light, and switch it on and off based on that. Assuming that it works as advertised (ie: doesn't break with recoil, reliably turns on only when the gun is in a ready position, reliably turns off when the gun is not in a ready position), what are the thoughts on it? To me, I find it to be an interesting idea at the very least, but since I haven't been trained in the use of WMLs, I don't know enough about their use to speak to the utility of it. I definitely applaud the person working on it for finding a novel approach to a problem and putting a good amount of effort and time into addressing it.

J.Ja

[JodyH]

Sometimes I want the light on when im not at the ready.
What about stairs or elevated positions?

[derekb]

I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about accelerometers in the context of flashlights and while I can acknowledge that it's interesting, I can't get over the fact that sometimes it's not going to do what I want. No matter how cleverly you program it, at some point you'll want to do something it's not programmed to do, and then what? I've heard lots of very neat suggestions that could all go sour down very quickly in an emergency (and a WML pretty much only sees emergency use, right?)

I've got a flashlight on the way that includes an accelerometer, so I will undoubtedly spend some time playing with it and trying to find real applications, but I'm not too hopeful.

[jmjames]

Sometimes I want the light on when im not at the ready.
What about stairs or elevated positions?

I was wondering the same, perhaps there is a manual override? A similar situation is a storage situation that happens to "feel" like a weapon at the ready, you'd want a manual off switch for that scenario.

J.Ja

[jmjames]

I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about accelerometers in the context of flashlights and while I can acknowledge that it's interesting, I can't get over the fact that sometimes it's not going to do what I want. No matter how cleverly you program it, at some point you'll want to do something it's not programmed to do, and then what? I've heard lots of very neat suggestions that could all go sour down very quickly in an emergency (and a WML pretty much only sees emergency use, right?)

I've got a flashlight on the way that includes an accelerometer, so I will undoubtedly spend some time playing with it and trying to find real applications, but I'm not too hopeful.

I'd be interested in hearing your feedback on the flashlight you've got coming... though your link is pointing to the wrong item (unless you meant that your boots are the flashlight? ).

J.Ja

[derekb]

Thank you for the heads up. I intended to link to the Hexbright project.

[jmjames]

Thank you for the heads up. I intended to link to the Hexbright project.

I don't see anything about an accelerometer on there. That said, it looks like a really neat idea anyways, and I'd definitely consider getting one just for the novelty of programming against it.

J.Ja

[derekb]

I don't see anything about an accelerometer on there. That said, it looks like a really neat idea anyways, and I'd definitely consider getting one just for the novelty of programming against it.

J.Ja

Most of the revised electronics info is buried in the updates. There's an accelerometer, temperature sensor, 3.3v regulator, 4 free I/O pins on the uC and I think some extra space to put whatever extra gizmos you might want. It's going to be a hell of a light.

[jmjames]

Most of the revised electronics info is buried in the updates. There's an accelerometer, temperature sensor, 3.3v regulator, 4 free I/O pins on the uC and I think some extra space to put whatever extra gizmos you might want. It's going to be a hell of a light.

Ah, neat! It makes sense, most of that stuff adds well under $1 to the total cost. Too bad the funding is closed, but I just sent them a message asking if there's a mailing list to be notified when it's released.

J.Ja

[Jac]

Thank you for the heads up. I intended to link to the Hexbright project.

Nice M7 pic, though...

I should've got in on the HexBright funding stage when I saw it on boingboing... a programmable flashlight has long been one of my would-be-cool-to-have's.