Louder than bombs: LRAD 'sonic cannon' debuts in U.S. at G20 protests

Pittsburgh police on Thursday used an audio cannon manufactured by American Technology Corp (ATCO), a San Diego-based company, to disperse protesters outside the G-20 Summit -- the first time its LRAD series device has been used on civilians in the U.S.

An ATC sales representative confirms to DailyFinance that Pittsburgh police used ATC's Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD). "Yes, we sold one LRAD unit to a government agency -- I don't know which one -- which was used in Pittsburgh," the representative said.

ATC's website calls the company "a leading innovator of commercial, government, and military directed acoustics product offers" that offers "sound solutions for the commercial, government, and military markets." The New York Times Friday reported that Pittsburgh officials believed this to be the technology's first use against civilians.

The paper did not identify the manufacturer of the audio cannon. "The police fired a sound cannon that emitted shrill beeps, causing demonstrators to cover their ears and back up," the paper reported. Similar "non-lethal" products designed by ATC have been used at sea by cruise ships to ward off pirates.

The company's LRAD series has a variety of featured benefits, including "Longer stand-off distances for increased asset protection, larger coverage with fewer personnel, and determination of intent of groups or individuals from extended distances." The product line can also transmit "bird distress calls to repel targeted birds from crops, buildings, and airports."

"The military version is a 45-pound, dish-shaped device that can direct a high-pitched, piercing tone with a tight beam. Neither the LRAD's operators or others in the immediate area are affected," USA Today reported in 2005.

ATC was founded in 1980 and recapitalized in 1992, according to its website, which explains that it began engineering sound weaponry in 1996. "In response to the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, we developed and introduced our revolutionary Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) product and continue to expand our sound reproduction technologies and products to meet the needs of our customers and target markets."

Given yesterday's civilian debut, with no reported casualties, commercial and civilian uses for LRAD also seem possible. And ATC, while small, is finding a rosy financial picture. The company reported record fiscal third quarter revenues of $4.4 million, for the quarter ended June 30: a 60 percent revenue increase over the prior year.

In a press release from early August, ATC president and CEO Tom Brown remarked: "We generated our second consecutive profitable quarter and achieved year-over-year revenue growth through strong LRAD sales to U.S. and foreign naval forces, maritime shipping companies and for bird-deterrence applications. ... With pirate attacks up 110% in the first six months of this calendar year with 240 incidents reported, compared to 114 incidents for the same period last year, we continue to experience increasing domestic and international maritime security interest and orders for our proprietary LRAD systems."