[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68913-68914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27368]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OJP (NIJ) Docket No. 1676]


Request for Expressions of Interest From Manufacturers and 
Developers in Forthcoming Gun Safety Technology Challenge and Request 
for Information

AGENCY: National Institute of Justice, DOJ.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is requesting 
manufacturers and developers of firearms that incorporate advanced 
safety technologies or firearms accessories utilizing advanced safety 
technologies that are intended to modify firearms to submit an 
expression of interest in the forthcoming Gun Safety Technology 
Challenge (``Challenge'') and provide information about their products 
or technology. Through the Challenge, NIJ will seek an objective 
demonstration through testing and evaluation of the reliability of 
firearms and firearms accessories available today that are typically 
known by various terms such as smart guns, user-authorized handguns, 
childproof guns, and personalized firearms. These firearms or firearms 
accessories can be understood to utilize integrated components that 
exclusively permit an authorized user or set of users to operate or 
fire the gun and automatically deactivate it under a set of specific 
circumstances, reducing the chances of accidental or purposeful use by 
an unauthorized user. NIJ is interested in receiving information 
regarding which firearms and firearms accessories that incorporate 
advanced safety technologies that would be made available by industry 
for testing and evaluation in the Challenge. This information will help 
inform NIJ regarding the scope of the notional test methods and test 
procedures for firearms and firearms accessories required for the 
Challenge, as described below.

DATES: Manufacturers or developers wishing to submit an expression of 
interest and information to the National Institute of Justice must do 
so by 5 p.m. Eastern Time January 5, 2015, as instructed below.

ADDRESSES: How to Respond and What to Include: To submit an expression 
of interest and information, please send an email to 
[email protected]. Please provide the business contact 
information, including a point of contact name, company name (if 
applicable), mailing address, phone number, and email address. The 
minimum information requested about the firearm or firearm accessory 
responsive to the Challenge described in this notice is as follows: (1) 
A written description; (2) a photograph (or diagram); (3) the type of 
cartridge that would be used in the firearm; and (4) an estimate of the 
technological maturity. The information found in the report A Review of 
Gun Safety Technologies is suggested as a guide to assess the maturity 
of technologies. The report can be found here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/242500.pdf. There is no limit to the amount of 
information that interested parties may submit. No materials will be 
returned. All materials submitted will be treated confidentially and 
discreetly and may be shared with U.S. Government staff or U.S. 
Government contractors for evaluation purposes. This notice is not a 
solicitation for funding and does not obligate the Government to fund 
any research and development.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) was 
tasked with supporting the President's Plan to Reduce Gun Violence, 
specifically:
    ``The President is directing the Attorney General to work with 
technology experts to review existing and emerging gun safety 
technologies, and to issue a report on the availability and use of 
those technologies. In addition, the Administration will issue a 
challenge to the private sector to develop innovative and cost-
effective gun safety technology and provide prizes for those 
technologies that are proven to be reliable and effective.''
    In support of this Executive action, NIJ has conducted a technology 
assessment and market survey of existing and emerging gun safety 
technologies that would be of interest to the law enforcement and 
criminal justice communities and others with an interest in gun safety 
and advanced firearm technology. A report published in June 2013 by NIJ 
entitled A Review of Gun Safety Technologies examined existing and 
emerging gun safety technologies, and their availability and use, to 
provide a comprehensive perspective on firearms with integrated 
advanced safety technologies.

[[Page 68914]]

    Following the report, NIJ now seeks an objective demonstration of 
the reliability of firearms available today with advanced gun safety 
technology integrated into the firearm through a forthcoming Gun Safety 
Technology Challenge (``Challenge''). The reliability of firearms with 
integrated advanced safety technologies has been cited as a concern 
regarding the potential performance and user acceptance of products 
that may incorporate such technologies, as discussed in the report. It 
is anticipated that the results of the Challenge will provide a basis 
to improve the general understanding of whether the addition of a smart 
gun technology does or does not significantly reduce the reliability of 
the firearm system compared to existing firearms. It is believed that 
this Challenge will be the first effort to apply a methodology to 
provide a rigorous and scientific assessment of the technical 
performance characteristics of these types of firearms.
    Manufacturers and developers of ``smart guns'' are encouraged to 
respond to this notice to help determine the number of firearm products 
that are at a commercial or pre-commercial level of maturity that could 
reasonably be considered safe to carry out testing with live 
ammunition. Qualified interested parties will be able to submit at a 
later time their products for testing and evaluation by a third-party 
testing entity capable of assessing the performance characteristics of 
firearms through the Challenge. NIJ has partnered with the U.S. Army 
Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) to perform firearm testing and evaluation. 
While response to this notice is not a prerequisite for participation 
in the forthcoming Challenge, the information provided here would 
permit NIJ and ATC to better assess whether the products or 
technologies are viable from a testing perspective. The types of 
firearms that can reasonably be expected to be within the scope of the 
Challenge include pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, or 
accessories that can modify those types of firearms.
    The proposed testing and evaluation in the forthcoming Challenge 
will notionally proceed in an escalated manner in three stages. Stage 1 
will be an information review. Participants will deliver a white paper 
describing their product or technology and will be encouraged to 
provide any available test data to substantiate claims regarding 
performance or reliability. Stage 2 will involve single product 
testing. Participants will deliver two firearms or firearm accessories 
with integrated gun safety technology for initial testing to confirm 
that the product performs at a minimum performance level. Testing would 
be limited to a thorough inspection and tests tending toward more light 
duty real-world use. Participants will need to provide a safety 
assessment report to ensure that their products are safe for testing 
personnel to handle and operate. Stage 3 will involve expanded product 
testing. Participants will deliver additional units for testing to 
boost the sample size. This stage will be reserved for mature products 
that are demonstrated to perform at a minimum performance level 
determined by Stage 2 testing with Stage 3 tests tending toward more 
heavy duty real-world use. More rounds of ammunition will be used per 
unit tested with additional environmental tests to characterize 
functionality and durability under different conditions.
    The test procedures used in the Challenge will be selected or 
designed to better understand the impact of smart gun technology on the 
reliability of the firearm, which may include different authentication 
technologies like radio frequency identification and fingerprint 
sensors. Test procedures shall be applicable to any firearm or firearm 
accessory eligible for entry into the Challenge, which will be informed 
in part by the response to this notice. Failure definitions and scoring 
criteria that can be used to draw conclusions regarding the performance 
of the participating firearms or firearms accessories will be developed 
according to established guidelines already in use for reliability 
applications in U.S. Army and Joint Service systems. It is also 
anticipated that manufacturers or developers of ``smart guns'' will be 
invited at a later time to participate in a voluntary informational 
workshop as a part of the Challenge. Response to this notice is not a 
prerequisite for participation in the forthcoming Challenge.

William Sabol,
Acting Director, National Institute of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2014-27368 Filed 11-18-14; 8:45 am]
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