Taser International Inc. has plowed a huge chunk of its research-and-development budget into two new products: Taser AXON and Evidence.com, says the Arizona Republic. AXON, a device that includes an iPhone-like digital player and a video recorder connected to an earpiece, and Evidence.com, a Web-based software program for viewing footage, are part of Taser's push to diversify.
The rollout, likely late this summer, comes as law-enforcement agencies struggle to buy equipment because of state, county and municipal cuts. The use of on-officer recording devices also raises privacy and logistical issues that could discourage agencies from spending the $5,600 per unit Taser estimates the technology will cost. The newspaper describes evidence.com as "a sort of MySpace for law enforcement." The Web-based program will let agencies view footage recorded with the system, map out where crimes occur, and eventually search incidents in other departments' videos.
