So what are the chances of us seeing a massive development in firearms technology within' our lifetimes?
It seems a lot of the technology is already there for laser or guass guns, but we just don't have the right batteries and the like to go the whole mile yet.
>>28289787
Quite possible, so long as batteries get an improvement and aren't as shitty.
>>28289787
Slim to be honest.Maybe more efficient recoil systems, more advanced optics/target tracking, and maybe guided rounds in smaller calibers, but probably not anything like a laser or gauss because no portable power source strong enough.
However, guided sniper rounds and self-calibrating optics would be pretty dope (pun intended)
>>28289787
I'd expect nightvision optics (and NVGs themselves) to become cheaper and more popular... perhaps some kind of cybernetic targeting system for the military so a soldier can acquire a sight picture without needing to physically look down the barrel. Perhaps some funky caseless 6mm new assault rifle round. All told, it'd be incremental improvements that may or may not actually be worth the costs of using.
>>28289944
I think that second part already exists
>>28289787
The day you see the creation of a ultra compact micro fusion device not unlike something like Stark's power source, you will see a SHITLOAD of stuff being made that has been feasible, save the power source since the '50's.
>>28289869
we have guided/correcting rounds right now.
folded ammo, sapphire optics, and advances in propellants.
We have all the technology, ideas, and designs needed for notable increases in preformance, it's just everything is good enough and so well established that it is not worth the risk if it not compatible with the current form factor.
Basically its the same reason why all of America doesn't have fiber optic and gb/s speeds. risk/reward
Microscopic batteries have been in development since the late 90s, meaning superdense battery packs aren't impossible.
Laser weaponry is never going to happen, the energy output required is way too high. Yes you can use it for intercepting ordinance and such, but not a major weapon system.
Magnetic weaponry or electric propulsion are probably the next big breakthroughs.
>>28289787
None due to U.N. peace regulations, which means we will never have Crisis tier guns that fire Sabots, otherwise fin stabilized war crimminal boolets.
>>28293880
fin stabilized boolits sound pretty useless anyways, any distance at which you'd really need those would be really too big an annoyance to sight for anyways
I could see fin-stabilized slugs with some secondary payload being pretty neato though, in place of rifle-launched grenades.
You are going to get massive improvements in accessory technology and integration. Those "rifle scope spotting systems" that are currently mounted on some vehicles or emplaced are currently being miniaturized to fit on rifles. Soon you will just sweep your rifle across a mountain range and your overpriced .mil issued Googleglass rip off with have a bunch of markers next to all identified optics.
We already have Tracking Point, we already have the ability to run thermal on your rifle and shoot around corners via a heads up display that feeds your thermal into your face. You have DHS already contracting a full spectrum optics solution for rifles that incorporates TrackingPoint level shot calculations mixed in with optical glass, thermal and night vision capabilities all in one package. You have a Canadian company doing something similar with Digital, NV and Thermal in one single package.
The technology exists and is only getting cheaper and cheaper. Smaller thermal cores with higher pixel density and less power draw exist when 5 years ago they were a pipe dream. Battery life keeps decreasing. That shitty Torrey Pines micro thermal optic can run for over 10 hours on a single CR123 - How long until full scopes can do that?
Silicon valley will lead the way in cool, gucci equipment. Miniturization and incorporating multiple technologies into one package will become the norm. The 6500 dollar Wilcox Raptar, which is a Visible Laser, IR Laser and IR Illuminator + a fucking rifle mounted range finder good out to a mile is now 4500 dollars. How long until it's a thousand? How long until someone else comes out with a cooler package? SilencerCo announced a mile long rifle mounted range finder, no LAM capabilities, but for under 1,000 dollars.
The future is now, and more future is coming soon. Right now we are running around with Nokia's but soon we will end up in the iPhone era of tech for the guns
>>28293921
it's funny because for as much as you like to say optics and computing are going to keep increasing, Moore's Law is drying up and computation speed growth is slowing down.
It won't be until programmable matter is figured out that microcomputers of the type necessary to do what you're talking about are possible.
>>28293928
They've been saying that since I can remember. It very well may be slowing down, but it'll be very gradual, and we still have a long way to go until we truly expend our computing potential, if that is in fact even possible.
>>28293928
You are incorrect for literally 3 reasons:
>the technology to do everything I listed already exists
>is merely a matter of development and optimization
>.gov contracts drive firearms industry, but .gov is too slow for silicon valley types to participate in
The primary issue right now is the government is not friendly to technology companies. Tech companies look for fast payouts and trying to keep ahead of trends. .gov contracts can take literally a decade and cost millions, all for them to stop one day and say they don't want it any more. It's a significant pain in the ass and no tech company that could program really cool apps using existing technology does not want to get involved. They can simply make a new mobile app and make millions that way by selling once they get big.
L3 has had a patent for a Thermal and Night Vision fused clip on scope system - the sorts you put in front of your rifle scope to give it night time capabilities. They have had these patents for over a decade. The PSQ-20 (NV + Thermal head mounted monocular) has existed for almost 10 years really, and only within the last 5 has it got real traction. All these two things are is, well, duct taping a thermal unit and a night vision unit together and using a prism to combine the images on top of one another.
Thermal tech is 4x as capable as it was 10 years ago. It also has 4x the battery life, 4x the resolution and is only 1/4 the size and <1/4 the price. It's digital tech and the only floor for how low thermal advancements can go is the actual price of germanium, which is an expensive element. The current market is nowhere near that floor.
The technology exists, it is being worked on, and is being demoed and shown. It's only going to get more integrated, more connected and more cohesive as time goes on.
