Titanfall's smart weapons are real, see how they're being marketed to Americans

Respawn Entertainment's Titanfall has popularized a number of futuristic military advancements. Many of them, for instance the game's energy shields and personal jump jets, are pure fantasy that break many of the laws of physics as we understand them. But one curious item from the game actually exists today.

The Smart Pistol MK5 is an auto-targeting weapon that gives players unerring accuracy. You can see it in action at the 46 second mark below.

Turns out, a system eerily similar to the Smart Pistol actually exists. It's called the TrackingPoint Precision Guided Firearm. It's an integrated rifle optics system combined with a proprietary computer and a custom-built set of weapons that allow users to hit targets with tremendous accuracy. It's Linux-based and compatible with Google Glass.

"A TrackingPoint Precision Guided Firearm (PGF)," says their website, "is like a fighter jet without wings." Bullet points include the ability to lock on to a target and ensure the accuracy of shots that "used to be humanly impossible."

The Austin-based startup is embarking on a new marketing push, trying to broaden their product's appeal to U.S. consumers. They've released their latest commercial on YouTube just yesterday, which you can see below.

The video is irreverent and arguably a little tasteless, but that's often the goal of many advertising campaigns. It's always interesting to see how technologies are sold to the public, and comparing fictional versions to their real-world analogues is always useful to consider. I imagine we'll all be looking back on Star Citizen's commercials in the coming decades and clucking our tongues.