New laser sighting system enlists electronic sensors to make sure snipers hit their marks

Anyone who's ever picked a flea off a dog's back with an automatic weapon knows there's a fine line between a crushed bug and a bloody mutt. Fortunately for flea-bitten K9s, a team of researchers are working on a laser-packing fiber-optic sensor system to guarantee that your rifle's crosshairs are always dead on. Known simply as the Reticle Compensating Rifle Barrel Reference Sensor, the setup enlists the exterior grooves, or flutes, on a typical rifle as a receptacle for glass optical fibers. These fibers direct beams of light along the top and side of the weapon to precisely measure just how far off the gun's sights are from the barrel's actual position. A set of algorithms and sensor inputs are then employed to adjust for distance and other factors that affect a bullet's trajectory, providing the shooter with crosshairs that adjust to environmental changes in real time. Unsurprisingly, the system is being targeted at military and law enforcement, which means it probably won't make it into the hands of anyone who uses firearms as an alternative to Advantage. Sorry, Rover. Full PR after the break.