You’d never hunt with someone you didn’t trust, but most hunting accident victims are shot by their hunting companion. Imagine finding your dead buddy when you expected to find a dead deer.

IRIS is a revolutionary laser accessory that sees what you don’t. Get your hands on IRIS by selecting a perk in the right hand column!

What is IRIS?

IRIS (Infrared Retroreflector Identification System) enhances existing hunter safety measures like blaze-orange, with globally unique detection technology that warns a hunter their gun is aimed at a person not an animal.

Until now, hunters have only had blaze-orange to help prevent being accidentally shot. Wearing blaze-orange can make a big difference, but unfortunately it's just not wholly effective with up to half of victims wearing it when shot.

Why we need your help

We’re two dads and product designers from New Zealand who enjoy hunting and want to make it a safer pastime for everyone in the great outdoors! With our IRIS technology we have big aspirations but limited resources.

We’re extremely proud of what we’ve created, but need your help to produce the first limited volume IRIS production run. We currently have fully functional pre-production prototypes that are ready for tooling and manufacture.

Help make hunting accidents a thing of the past

Every year hundreds of hunters are killed or seriously injured in hunting accidents. Two-thirds of victims are shot by the person they’re hunting with, often a close friend or relative who was an experienced, careful hunter. The average distance is just 115 feet! (35 metres). Imagine the pain of accidentally killing your best friend, or even your own child.

Who can benefit from IRIS technology?

Hunters and non-hunters alike can benefit from IRIS detection technology:

• Hunters
• Non-hunting companions
• Game beaters
• Nature watchers, hikers, horse riders, runners etc
• Hunting dogs

How IRIS works

The IRIS sensor sends tiny pulses of non-visible laser in the direction of fire. If the sensor sees laser reflected from IRIS patches on a person's clothing or equipment up to 500 feet (150 metres) away, it instantly warns the shooter of danger.

The laser is completely invisible to humans and animals and the IRIS doesn't need to be zeroed-in so it's super easy to set up. Once mounted, all you have to do is switch it on at the beginning of your hunt, then hunt as usual, easy as that! The IRIS uses a single AA battery which will give over 100 hours of use.

IRIS patches have been precision engineered to reflect infrared light. They're thin, flexible, durable, washable and don't require any power. We've built them into vests and caps in both blaze-orange and full camouflage!

Blaze-orange is a great start, but...

Blaze-orange can greatly enhance visibility so it makes sense to wear it. Unfortunately though, it’s just not fully effective, with hunting accident data from the IHEA* showing up to half of victims were wearing it when shot.

*IHEA (International Hunter Education Association) data taken 1999-2001. Sample of 1223 accidents where one hunter accidentally shoots another.

Hunting accidents can happen to anyone

Over the past few years we’ve learned that hunting accidents frequently aren’t the result of a bad attitude, inexperience, overexcitement or snap-shooting. It's simply that psychological factors such as ‘inattentional blindness’ and ‘cognitive illusion’ mean any hunter has the capacity to be absolutely convinced they’re shooting at an animal when they’re not.

“In so many of these shootings the shooter does identify his target 100% (in his mind), he knows 100% that it's a deer, can clearly see it's a deer, even count the points, even watch it for 10 minutes (yep it's happened!), then shoots his mate! He's not an idiot at all, the mind plays tricks and the more hunting you do the more likely you will make a mistake. It can happen to anyone." — Martin Askes, Editor of NZ Outdoor Hunting Magazine

“I never thought it would happen to me, I always thought I made sure of the target. And that’s what worries me. In my mind that was a deer looking at me. Every day I think about it and I still can’t see anything different. There was not even a thought that it wasn’t or I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger.” — Dave Alker

Cognitive illusions (such as those shown below) help demonstrate how subjective and error-prone visual perception can sometimes be.

Image credit: Google images.

Protect the hunting heritage

Because IRIS technology will result in fewer hunting accidents, it will also contribute towards protecting access to hunting land and ensuring your freedom to hunt against those who want it banned. Not only will your pledge help make hunting safer, it'll help protect the heritage of hunting and might actually save someone’s life one day, maybe even your own!

What you get

Each IRIS pack contains:

• Sensor kit containing one IRIS sensor, clamp, hex-key, test patch and instruction manual (AA battery not included).
• IRIS vest in blaze-orange or camo.
• IRIS cap in blaze-orange or camo.

IRIS SENSOR KIT

The IRIS sensor comes in a box with an IRIS mounting clamp for 1-inch scopes*, a hex key, an IRIS test patch and instruction manual.

Optional accessories:

• 30mm IRIS scope clamp
• IRIS-detectable stickers
• Shotgun-barrel IRIS clamp (coming soon)

IRIS sensor technical specifications

• Battery: 1 x AA
• Battery life: 100+ hours
• Weight: 2.5 oz / 70 g (+ battery)
• Body diameter: 1” / 25.4 mm
• Length: 4.1” / 105 mm
• Weatherproof: Yes, IP-67 waterproof
• Housing: 6061 anodized aluminium
• Low battery alert: Yes
• Laser: The IRIS is a class 1 infrared laser product

IRIS patch details

• Infrared reflective polymer film
• Waterproof
• Flexible
• Durable
• Washable
• Passive (no power required)
• Made in the USA

IRIS-DETECTABLE VEST

IRIS vests come in a range of sizes from S-3XL and feature twin zippered side pockets, a large zippered back pocket, and are made from quick-drying polyester fabric. Nineteen strategically placed IRIS patches mean you can be detected from just about any angle up to about 600 feet (150m) away. Machine-washable.

Blaze-orange
Get extra visible with an IRIS-detectable vest in blaze-orange.

Camouflage
If you're safety-conscious but prefer not to wear orange, you can now be detectable and camouflaged, with an IRIS-detectable vest in Next Camo Vista!

IRIS-DETECTABLE CAP

IRIS-detectable caps will be available in blaze-orange or camo, and are a one size fits most trucker-style cap. Each cap is covered entirely in mesh which allows the IRIS-detectable material underneath to be visible through the holes. The cap doesn’t have the same detection range as an IRIS vest, but since many victims are shot in the head or chest at the relatively close range, it makes a lot of sense to wear one.

We've chosen a trucker-style design because the upright front panel offers better detection performance than a more sloping style. Detection range varies depending on the exact angle the cap is viewed at, but it can generally be detected at around 330 feet (100 metres) from the front and sides and around 250 feet (75 metres) from the rear.

Note: The final vests and caps may look slightly different from those shown as we finalise the design.

30mm IRIS SCOPE CLAMP

If you use a scope with a 30mm diameter tube, you'll need a 30mm IRIS clamp. (NOTE: One-inch scope clamps are included in the IRIS kit.)

SHOTGUN BARREL IRIS CLAMP

Coming soon.

IRIS-DETECTABLE STICKERS

IRIS-detectable sticker kits each contain five 6.3” x 1.6” (160 x 40 mm) self-adhesive IRIS patches and will be available in orange or black/camo. These patches can be used along with a vest to provide extra coverage, for example by putting them on a backpack, jacket sleeve or other hunting gear. The adhesive used is quite strong and when properly applied they should stick well to many fabrics, although be aware that some fabrics won't stick as well as others.

Progress & timeline

With the support of many people and organisations in New Zealand* and around the world we now have:

• Fully functional pre-production prototypes.
• A supplier of IRIS-detectable material.
• Completed vest and cap design.
• Supply chain, manufacturing and shipping logistics ready to go.

Your contributions will help pay for tooling and fund the first limited-volume IRIS production run.

*Thanks to IKE GPS, Callaghan Innovation and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise for their technical assistance and funding support.

IKE GPS | www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz | www.nzte.govt.nz

Here’s the plan...

• October 20th - Launch IndieGoGo Campaign
• November - Indiegogo Campaign ends
• December - Place final orders with our manufacturers
• February 2014 - We start shipping IRIS to you.

About us

We are product designers from New Zealand who love to hunt. We consider ourselves safe hunters, but we know safer, more experienced hunters than us who’ve had the heart-breaking experience of accidentally shooting and killing another hunter after being convinced they were firing at a deer. Deep down we know that could have been us.

To us, IRIS is a combination of many of the things we love; family, friends, the outdoors, hunting, and technology, and we’re pretty excited about it because we think it's the biggest innovation in hunter safety since the introduction of blaze-orange thirty-plus years ago.

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Please help us in our mission to eradicate hunting accidents by sharing our campaign with as many people as you can.

Thanks for reading and safe hunting!

FAQs

Q. Where does the name IRIS come from?

A. IRIS stands for Infrared Retroreflector Identification System. The name also comes from the iris in your eye (the coloured part) and is reflected in the design of the product through the ring (iris) of light in the end-cap that flashes the IRIS warning alert.

Q. Does IRIS work in the dark?

A. Yes. It works the same, day or night.

Q. Will I ever get any false alerts?

A. A false alert is highly unlikely because the IRIS looks for man-made reflective surfaces. Nothing in the natural environment will trigger a false alert. Anything that does cause a 'false' alert, will be man-made and therefore in a hunting context, not safe to shoot at anyway.

Q. Does IRIS work in the rain?

A. Yes. Although detection range may be slightly reduced during heavy rain by water droplets on the IRIS material.

Q. Do I need to align or calibrate my IRIS on my gun?

A. No, just clamp it on, test it, then you’re good to go.

Q. Can the IRIS sensor see through vegetation?

A. Yes and No. The laser cannot physically go through a leaf, branch or tree trunk, but it can go through all the gaps between the vegetation. This means detection can often occur even when the target is quite obscured behind vegetation. (See the additional video footage on the Gallery page.)

Q. Can animals see the IRIS laser?

A. No. The IRIS laser is completely invisible to humans and animals. It uses the same laser as laser rangefinders which many hunters use.

Q. Can any IRIS sensor detect any IRIS patch?

A. Yes.

Q: Doesn’t the IRIS system only really work if ALL hunters use it?

A: Even if just you and your hunting mate were the only ones in the world using IRIS, you’d benefit, simply because most hunting accident victims are shot by the person they hunt with. Of course, because the IRIS system is universal, you’d also receive protection from anyone else using an IRIS sensor too, so the more hunters that use it the better.

Q. I sometimes shoot animals hundreds of yards away, but an IRIS vest can only be detected out to about 500 feet (150 metres) away so what's the point?

A. Many hunting rifles have a deadly range of thousands of yards, but hunting accident data shows most accidents happen at well under 300 feet (90m), with the average distance being just 115 feet (35m). IRIS has been optimised to work at the range most hunting accidents happen at.

Q: Shouldn't hunters rely on their own judgement rather than IRIS technology to identify the target?

A: An IRIS sensor can't tell you whether it's safe to shoot or not (that's your job!), but it can warn you if it see IRIS patches on the target. Like blaze-orange, IRIS doesn’t replace any of the rules of hunter-safety, it just adds an extra degree of protection for otherwise safe hunters. Think of IRIS technology as being a bit like a rumble strip on the road. Rumble strips don’t steer the car for you and they can’t stop you driving off the road, but they do make you safer by warning you if you drift off course towards a crash.

Q: Why do hunters sometimes fail to identify the target, a person doesn’t look like a deer!?

A: Our brains work in strange ways, and psychological factors such as ‘inattentional blindness’ and ‘cognitive illusion’ mean anyone has the capacity to be absolutely certain they’ve identified the target beyond doubt when in fact they have not. Ironically, the more experienced you are, the more susceptible you are. The scary thing is there’s very little you can do about it because much of our visual perception is totally subconscious. Hunter education and training mainly affect conscious, voluntary behaviour which helps explain why many of the people who’ve caused hunting accidents have attended hunter education, knew the rules and considered themselves safety-conscious and careful hunters.

IMPORTANT

© Copyright 2013 Hunter Safety Lab Limited. All rights reserved. "IRIS", "Hunter Safety Lab", "Sees what you don't", "Live Out There" and the shield motif are trademarks or registered trademarks of Hunter Safety Lab Limited. International Patent Pending.