Are you a security guard?  Do you work at a funeral home?  Work traffic for the city?  Have your PI license?  If you said yes to any of these, then you might be able to pick up one of the most terrifying gadgets I’ve written about in a long time, the MIRT, Mobile Infrared Transmitter.

What does any of that mean, and why is it available under such narrow circumstances?  Think of a MIRT as a remote control for traffic lights.

Yes, at any given time, you could drive up to a red light, punch a button, and suddenly get a green.  For years, they were thought to be limited to official use only, and indeed, when I went to the company’s site, they gave a panoply of lists and links to relevant legal passages about the use and ownership of these things.

But you may not be able to use a MIRT much longer anyway, as individual counties are installing “phase selectors” to counteract the use of an illicit MIRT device.  But still, illegal or no, the idea is definitely a cool one.

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