From Ryan McMillan, who is also the CEO of Grayboe, comes a new company called Reactor. As they put it, Reactor was “founded to bring cool technology to the shooting sports realm.” From the looks of their first product, the Fusion Module, this mission is well underway.
The Reactor Fusion Module syncs to a smart phone or tablet and provides information such as:
• Shot Detection & Counting
• Shot Mapping
• Heading, Cant, and Inclination
• Barrel Temperature Readings
• Background Shot Logging
• Heads Up Display
• Environmental and Weather Data
• * Recoil Measurement
• * Rifle Lifespan Metrics
• * Maintenance Reminders
Those last three are pending; expected in updates to the app. More features and functionality, such as a ballistics calculator and the ability to communicate with additional Bluetooth devices, will continue to roll out via software updates.
Bolting onto your M-LOK-equipped handguard, stock, or chassis, most of the Reactor module remains on the inside, close to the barrel. (FYI, as I had one on me, we were able to confirm that it fits in Black Collar Arms’ new handguard)
An infrared thermometer measures the temperature of your barrel, and an array of other sensors measure cant, inclination, heading, and more.
It was pretty neat to move the chassis around and instantly see this information changing in real time on the phone.
Just a little left or right cant can throw your shot off by significant margins at long ranges. For example, lean your rifle just three degrees to the side and you’re likely to miss the bullseye by two full feet at 1,000 yards.
Likewise, if you’re shooting upwards or downwards this angle needs to be factored into your ballistic calculations, as either scenario will cause you to miss high if you don’t take it into account.
While more of a consideration for very long range shooting, compass heading also matters as you will miss high, low, left, or right due to the rotation of the earth. Yeah, it’s pretty freaking cool. It’s called Coriolis effect and if you’re curious about it you should give this article a read.
Thankfully, the Reactor app makes monitoring your gun’s attitude and heading extremely intuitive and fast.
The app can also keep track of where you are, ingesting local weather information automatically (including temperature, pressure, humidity, and more) or, better yet, syncing to a Kestrel via Bluetooth.
When a shot is fired, the Fusion Module logs it. All of its telemetry information, barrel temperature included, goes into that shot log. For competition shooters, hunters, Operators, and maybe even you and me, this info can be used to create highly valuable DOPE (data on previous engagements). Imagine knowing that, once your barrel hits a certain temperature, its accuracy begins to open up or your point of impact walks 1.2 MOA up and right.
In the plans is the ability to sync via Bluetooth to chronographs and other external systems.
With all of this information at one’s fingertips, there will be no excuses for missing shots. Other than misreading the wind. Oh, the wind. Though once the Reactor Fusion Module syncs with the upcoming Trijicon Ventus, the world of never missing is mine to screw up with a flinchy trigger press.
The NSA will love those things!
My very first thought after neat. Would be great if a stand alone unit was made preferably without wireless but that is just the overly cautious side of me. Realistically this wouldn’t say much more than maybe the shooters skill level and effective engagement range than is already known through various levels of data mining.
As a security person, I’d suggest you should be a lot more concerned about the security of the phone you tether it to than the fact that it’s wireless. Yes, we can do things with bluetooth at extreme ranges with the right equipment and environment, but in reality if those conditions are met, we already know where you are, what you’re doing, which way you’re pointing, etc.
If your concern is that the gummint will know when you go hunting/shooting whatever, then this device really isn’t going to rat you out more than your cell phone, on-star, fitbit, dash cam, and facebook images full of location data are already doing.
Would also report location where shot was taken as well as time I would guess. Not really a problem if one follows all relevant laws and rules but wouldn’t want to be close if the jurisdiction was looking for a reason. And I have no expectations of security via phone.
Really, guys? I was figuring this was to *replace* our guns, not augment them. I mean, who needs a gun when you have a video game? Think how much cheaper, and you can play with it right in the city!
Highly valuable dope.
That didn’t take long.
The only people that are going to buy one are those that actually want one and those that are willing to pay the price of owning one just to hack it’s abilities. Does not being charged prevent it for actually firing a bullet, because of some hidden fail safe system…
“The only people that are going to buy one are those that actually want one”
Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?
https://youtu.be/FtHZn5X5bXM
$499. I’ll pass.
Here’s a thought…learn how to zero and shoot a precision rifle the old fashioned away. Buy rifle. Mount optic. Zero. Shoot a lot. Master fundamentals and shoot until you confidently can say you may benefit from high priced gear. Leave the electronic gizmos to the people who think that their shooting problems can be fixed with hardware.
Coriolis effect eh? That explains why I can’t hit shit at long ranges. The Earth keeps moving.
Taken aside that “Reactor” was design specifically for a Rifle, it sound as though as it could have Boating, Off-Roading and Camping applications too…
This sounds a lot like the Mantis X3, other than that it is designed for a rile, what differentiates it.