Open Source Sniper Training

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Open Source Sniper Training

OK, in point of fact, this cool gadget from Matt Bitz of Liquidware could be used for pretty much any type of marksmanship training, but “sniper” was a pretty hard headline to resist. It couples Liquidware’s TouchShield Slide, an Arduino Duemilanove, and a lithium battery-pack in a camouflaged aluminum case for a handy range-gadget that records hits on a target—just tap the touchscreen with the tip of a round to mark a hit—and calculates accuracy and precision in real time. [Thanks, Jake!]

38 thoughts on “Open Source Sniper Training

  1. karthik says:

    So, how to make it???????????????//

    1. Big says:

      Click on the link in the post marked this cool gadget or go to http://antipastohw.blogspot.com/2010/08/arduino-meets-sniper-training.html

      1. John A. Dodge says:

        Neat gadget. BTW, to all the anti-gunners, snipers cause less collateral damage to civilians in a combat zonr than anything else. This gadget is not going to turn people into snipers. The skillset needed to become a military snuper is  just as important as being a crackshot. You must know conver,concealment, movement, tactics, ballistics, target identification, target profiling, SEER, and land navigation.

  2. Daniel Lefcourt says:

    You should take this post down. Many young people view this website. Not funny or cool given the rise of school shootings, etc. Kids get enough glorification of violence in every other form of entertainment. Make magazine should be an alternative to all that.

    1. Anonymous says:

      @google-19317e5ae143f98c94783b20ef787b62:disqus school shootings have nothing to do with showcasing an electronics project that aids with marksmanship training. we’ve featured many projects from the entire spectrum of making, this is one of them.

    2. Anonymous says:

      Exposure to firearms in a serious and sensible manner actually decreases the glorification of violence.  Making clear the responsibility and seriousness of real firearms in personal experience trumps all the crap on TV. 

      This is no different than training someone to handle power tools or a machine tool such as a lathe.  It requires a serious approach, but once instilled with the true understanding of the responsibility that goes with a firearm you have someone who is far more resistant to a potential gun tragedy than the kid who doesn’t understand and has only the TV to go by. 

    3. Anonymous says:

      Exposure to firearms in a serious and sensible manner actually decreases the glorification of violence.  Making clear the responsibility and seriousness of real firearms in personal experience trumps all the crap on TV. 

      This is no different than training someone to handle power tools or a machine tool such as a lathe.  It requires a serious approach, but once instilled with the true understanding of the responsibility that goes with a firearm you have someone who is far more resistant to a potential gun tragedy than the kid who doesn’t understand and has only the TV to go by. 

    4. Big says:

      As someone who has been in a school shooting I really see absolutely no way this glorifies violence. I agree with rocketryguy that being introduced to them in serious manner actually decreases glorification of violence.

    5. Big says:

      As someone who has been in a school shooting I really see absolutely no way this glorifies violence. I agree with rocketryguy that being introduced to them in serious manner actually decreases glorification of violence.

    6. DK says:

      When was the last school shooting that involved a sniper? Hell when was the last school shooting that involved white kids. Since the inner city sees gun violence all the time and its not ever reported on I assume you only care about the white kids.

  3. Travis Fredericks says:

    Thank you for posting things like this. I know I’m not the only Make subscriber who enjoys guns and target shooting as a hobby, and it’s good to know that it isn’t forbidden here out of a misplaced sense of political correctness. There are endless opportunities for creation in shooting sports, from making a target holder to building a rifle from blocks of steel and wood.

    1. Faiyaz Ahmed says:

      Sniper – a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place (http://bit.ly/phE4pX).

      This has little to do with political correctness and more to do with the literal definition of the device.  Lets not take away from the cool hack by calling it something which aids in killing people.

      1. Rahere says:

        With respect, I disagree –  killing and precision are two very different things. This has nothing to do in itself with killing, but everything with self-control which is exactly what the armed forces these days are called upon to exercise in the performance of their duties.
        It’s appallingly difficult to master a weapon if you have to put it down between shots to assess the accuracy, even with a spotting scope – you’re virtually compelled to shift and that makes the next shot nothing to do with the last. This addresses that question, telling  the marksman what actually happened once he pulled the trigger.
        In other words, we’re getting away from spray-guns, the kind of munitions guaranteed to kill innocents, and heading towards deliberate acts.

    2. Faiyaz Ahmed says:

      Sniper – a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place (http://bit.ly/phE4pX).

      This has little to do with political correctness and more to do with the literal definition of the device.  Lets not take away from the cool hack by calling it something which aids in killing people.

  4. Mike Adams says:

    So, it records your estimate of where your shots hit the target, then you analyze the estimated data? I can’t imagine anything productive coming from that analysis. Maybe record the actual hit data from the target and analyze that. I still don’t know what you would do with it. Can you enter your windage and elevation adjustments into the system? What about range? If you’re not capturing the elevation, windage and range all you are doing is estimating your ability to keep your optic aligned with a point on the target.

  5. Faiyaz Ahmed says:

    Calling it “Sniper Training” has a highly negative connotation outside of the armed forces / law enforcement.  How about they call it something else.  Something a bit more productive since this, obviously, can be used beyond training someone to kill a person from very far away (http://bit.ly/phE4pX).  

    How about “Open Source Marksman computer”.  

  6. Faiyaz Ahmed says:

    Calling it “Sniper Training” has a highly negative connotation outside of the armed forces / law enforcement.  How about they call it something else.  Something a bit more productive since this, obviously, can be used beyond training someone to kill a person from very far away (http://bit.ly/phE4pX).  

    How about “Open Source Marksman computer”.  

    1. DK says:

      One could also clasify hunters as “Snipers” but you keep up that its evil attitude. After all it was snipers that rescued the boat captain that was taken by pirates. 

  7. Daniel Lefcourt says:

    To clarify, I would not have commented if the post title had something to do with sports or marksmanship training. Makezine is an amazing site for parents and young people, and I appreciate the broad range of topics.

    If it were a different website, I would not have a problem with jokingly calling it sniper training – I make un-PC jokes all the time… but I don’t make those jokes in front of little kids.If a camp counselor teaching marksmanship started joking about “sniper training” with a bunch 12 year olds I would say that was irresponsible… wouldn’t you? As a father I am only asking you to acknowledge that this website should be kept family friendly.

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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