Smile And Say AAAAHHH: Hacked Pepper Spray Will Take a Snapshot of Your Mugger

Being pepper-sprayed is a deeply unpleasant experience, which is why in a perfect world, it’s usually reserved to people who are trying to mug, rape, or otherwise assault someone. And if someone is trying to pull that sort of crap on you, you don’t want to just hose them down with capsicum. You want to put their ass behind bars where they belong, and to do that, you’ll need a good description of your assailant.  A team of students at Cornell University though, want to do you one better, which is why they’re developing a miniature camera that can be paired with a can of pepper spray to snap a picture of the perpetrator while you’re sending them high-tailing with your self-defense spray.

The device, known as PepGuard, is still in its prototype stages and has yet to be hooked up to a can of mace. You can take a look at it in principle below, though, as the gadget not only snaps a photo of the person being pepper sprayed, but sends that photo to your phone and automatically dials a preset emergency number, so what you’ve got when it’s finished is a can of pepper spray that blinds your attacker, takes a snapshot of them, and calls the police for you at the push of a button. Isn’t technology awesome?

We look forward to seeing this nifty piece of electronics in action, as it’s an idea whose time has most definitely come.

(via Hack A Day)

Relevant to your interests

• Casual Pepper Spray Cop would get some great shots with this, no doubt
• You could also get a mace case for your iPhone, though that carries some dangers
• Remember — pepper spray is not a condiment