Yes, Sandia researchers have created “a dart-like, self-guided bullet for small-caliber, smooth-bore firearms that could hit laser-designated targets at distances of more than a mile (about 2,000 meters).” Continue reading for a video demonstration — “The first bit of footage shows the plastic sabots, which protect the delicate steering fins, drop off after the bullet emerges from the firearm’s barrel. The second portion of the footage shows the bullet curving slightly into its designated target.”

Their bullet works much like a precision guided aerial bomb might function. An optical sensor in the nose of the bullet detects a laser beam painted on a target and sends that information to a guidance and control system also packed on board. An eight-bit CPU commands electromagnetic actuators to adjust tiny fins that deploy from the round immediately after it exits the muzzle. From there, the on-board electronics aerodynamically guide the bullet home to its target, allowing the shooter to adjust a round’s trajectory in flight to correct on a long shot or to stay with a moving target.

[via PopSci]

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