Sticky Bullets

Government agencies are showing interest in a sticky bullet developed by six undergraduate engineering students at the University of Florida in Gainesville in conjunction with researchers from Lockheed Martin.

The SPLAT, or Sticky Polymer Lethal Agent Tag, bullet is unlike other smart bullets in that miniature electronic sensors, such as a detector for chemical explosives or a microphone for remote audio surveillance, are embedded into the adhesive, which sticks to almost anything. The sticky polymer material is the same adhesive the cable TV industry uses to seal antenna cables from outdoor elements. A radio transmitter sends data back to the shooter through a wire antenna at the rear of the crayon-shaped bullet, which measures 0.68 inches in diameter. SPLAT works with a CO2-powered “paintball gun.”

The student’s version of SPLAT was able to return data to a laptop computer as far away as 240 feet. Leslie Kramer, director and engineering fellow for the Missile and Fire Control division of Lockheed Martin, says a field demo unit could be ready in six months if there is more interest in SPLAT.

“Specifically, the hope was to go out and put a chemical sensor out there that can detect explosives [from a safe distance],” says Kramer.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the ABCNews.com (07/06/04); Eng, Paul .