TASER wanted to announce its shift to a new corporate direction. So it did in a truly shocking way.
Stun gun manufacturer TASER International announced the company's name change to Axon. It also launched a program to equip police officers nationwide with body cameras — free of charge for one year.
TASER is one of the leading manufacturers of law enforcement gadgets, such as its ubiquitous non-lethal weapon and namesake taser, and police body cameras.
Axon, The Company Formerly Known As TASER
TASER International announced its official name change to Axon via its official press release. Axon is the former name of the company's business unit that develops body cameras, in-car cameras, and cloud-based digital evidence management program.
Not coincidentally, axon is the scientific name for the nerve fibers that conduct electrical impulses in the body. This name change to Axon highlights the company's shift from a stun gun company to a "full solutions provider" of services.
"Times are changing — and so are we. We are changing our name from TASER to Axon to reflect the evolution of our company from a less-lethal weapons manufacturing company to a full solutions provider of cloud and mobile software, connected devices, wearable cameras, and now artificial intelligence," said Rick Smith, CEO of Axon.
Axon wanted to transform itself into a brand for public safety through its applications, network of devices, and people with expertise. The name TASER will remain in the company's portfolio, according to the press release.
Free Body Cameras For One Year
As part of its rebranding efforts, Axon is making its presence felt literally on every police officer's body with its offer of free body camera use.
"We are going 'all-in' to empower police officers to more safely and effectively do their jobs and drive important social change by making body cameras available to every officer in America," said Smith.
Smith added that cameras will help not only in protecting the communities and the police themselves, but also in changing police work through reduction of "endless paperwork" and collection of impartial records.
Axon body camera is a simple, single-unit camera mounted on police uniform. It can record HD videos with a touch of a button, and it also syncs with smartphones using the Axon View app.
Axon's offer includes:
• One Axon Body 2 camera per officer
• Digital evidence data storage with an Evidence.com "Unlimited Pro" license
• Two mounts per officer
• Docking station for uploading body camera footage
• Access to the full Axon Academy online training library
Evidence.com is an online, subscription-only, cloud-based digital evidence management system developed by Axon. The software is targeted primarily at law enforcement agencies. It is used for processing digital evidence like audio files, video clips, and photographic evidence acquired using body cameras, car cameras, voice recorders, cell phones, and other recording devices.
