Basically, it's similar to a "bean bag round", except it's rocket propelled and probably heavier. The aim is to deliver sufficient momentum to knock an individual over. Of course, if fired conventionally from a gun, it would also knock down the person firing it...

Enter the rockets. Using a solid rocket motor, possibly fuelled by sugar, the round accelerates after leaving the weapon. This leads to more manageable recoil; it may have to be launched from the gun through compressed air, depending on the exhaust temperature, which may be an issue for anyone being hit by it. The round will be designed to dump as much momentum as possible into the target, knocking them down (and probably fracturing a few ribs in the process - eh, I thought of it as a means to take out an opponent who is a threat to life, the current alternative is to shoot them...). It may be that it would have to flatten upon impact, to achieve maximum force at a safe level of pressure.

A 0.05 kg round moving at 100 m/s would have a kinetic energy of 250 J and a momentum of 5 kgm/s. If it impacts an individual massing 100 kg and dumps that momentum into them in 0.1 m/s, they will experience an acceleration of 0.5 m/s^2, though obviously concentrated in a smaller section. Perhaps later iterations will up the velocity, if it can spread out more to reduce the impact...

The main advantage I can see over the current bean bag round system is possibly greater range.
-- Selky, Nov 26 2014

Wiki on bean bag rounds https://en.wikipedi...wiki/Bean_bag_round
[Selky, Nov 26 2014]

Panzerfaust http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerfaust
An ideal starting point for experimentation [8th of 7, Nov 28 2014]

[fishbone], because on further reflection, I suspect it would be quite dangerous, given that the rocket would be very hot...

Perhaps a rocket powered drone, though, might work. One that is designed to actively push against an individual. Could we make solid rocket motors cool enough?
-- Selky, Nov 27 2014


I think the problem with rocketry is that you need highly skilled people to know where they're going to land, I mean we're really talking brain-surgeon level types here, it's quite a science.
-- zen_tom, Nov 27 2014


I think this is the wrong approach. Your aim is to hit the target with a massive projectile with a large enough area to avoid traumatic injury, yes? You are also using rockets to reduce the recoil of the launcher, yes?

So, a little lateral thinking suggests an alternative solution. Instead of using rockets, embrace the recoil - in fact, design a weapon which produces as much recoil as possible. Then, the police officer turns his back to the target, and fires the weapon. The result is that the entire policeman is propelled, by the recoil, towards the target.

Policemen are generally quite large, and also roughly human-sized. So, this impact will deliver a lot of momentum to the target, spread over the maximum impact area.

Not only will the target be knocked over, but he will end up underneath the policeman, who can then conveniently apply the handcuffs.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 27 2014


A trebuchet will throw a large object quite fast with little recoil.
-- pocmloc, Nov 27 2014


1. Get a retired defensive lineman.
2. Indicate the desired target to said lineman.
3. Offer a six-pack in exchange for a sack.
-- lurch, Nov 27 2014


Or you could devise a recoilless bean bag gun, which would then allow you to fire arbitrarily large beanbags.
-- Custardguts, Nov 27 2014


Centrifugal bean bag launcher. Two bags enter, one bag leaves.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 27 2014


Beanbag Panzerfaust … [+]

A cool-burn rocket motor isn't a problem. Take a look at the RPG family of BCSW … and with most shoulder-launched rocket weapons, the motor has fully expended before the projectile leaves the launch tube.

The beanbag could be mounted in a longtitudinally segmented sabot, like a plaswad, which is attached to the rocket motor built into a very lightweight casing. When the projectile leaves the muzzle, a set of retarding flaps spring out around the base of the rocket like the petals of a flower; the rocket - now with very little mass, since the propellant has burnt out - rapidly brakes and falls to the ground; the beanbag eixts the front of the sabot and proceeds to the target.

The launcher, since it is just a guide and doesn't need to contain pressure, could be plastic and single-use.

Very Bakeable, and would make a great Mythbusters episode.

<wanders off to find a suitable length of drainpipe)
-- 8th of 7, Nov 28 2014


It would be a more elegant solution for each individual bean to have its own rocket motor, then the join up to hit the target, so avoiding obstacles in the way..

NB start parking tractors on Heathrow's runways now...I'm coming back to blight the lives of English people in person weekend after this muwhhahahah..
-- not_morrison_rm, Nov 28 2014


//drone//

I hope in the near future police will have robots that move so much faster than human reflexes they'll be able to tie up any suspect before he can so much as twitch. This will make police work much safer for all involved parties.
-- Voice, Nov 28 2014


Giant Robotic Police Spiders ?

You could post that.
-- 8th of 7, Nov 29 2014



random, halfbakery