Smart gun a $1M winner

A HIGH-TECH vinyl gun holster designed by a team of students won a $1 million smart gun design competition, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced Monday. “This is everything for us,” said Sy Cohen, leader of the team at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn. The winning design includes three security options. First, the gun owner’s fingerprints must match before the weapon can be removed from the holster. If that doesn’t happen, a key card like sensor worn on the owner’s lapel can release the weapon. Finally, a voice recognition device can also be used to match the authorized owner and free the gun. The idea was the brainchild of Cohen and his team of three other students, Ashwin Raj Kumar, Eddilene Paola Cordero Pardo and Jonathan Ng. The team is in the process of submitting the idea for a patent. They plan to use the money to develop a working prototype within the next few months, said Anthony Clarke, the professor who mentored the group.