Louie wearing the original Pupil Pistol. (Masters Saga: "The Hunters")
The Pupil Pistol, also known as the Nichols's Special Vision Track Firing System (VTFS), is a piece of equipment developed by Louie Nichols of the 15th Alpha Tactical Armored Corps during the Second Robotech War.
Initially, it was created as a gaming tool by Nichols in order to demonstrate how a machine could be superior to an organic pilot. After modifying a game system, he created a special program along with glasses in order to enhance his targeting ability. The glasses functioned by picking up the movements of the users pupils and responded with impulses that are programmed in the memory of the cartridge. The cartridge in turn remembers the pattern of the users pupils and produces a recognizable firing zone that is activated when the organic pupils intercept the reflected light from the target. This effectively gave the impression that a machine gun was built into the glasses of the user themselves and provided an outstanding accuracy rate.
Members of the Robotech Division under Major Cromwell learned of the Pupil Pistol when Nichols was demonstrating it and intended to use it as part of their plans. They decided to enlist Nichols aid for the creation of a fight simulator used to train troops. However, in truth, they used the Pupil Pistol and equipped it within the fighting vehicles of the Army of the Southern Cross. When Nichols learned of this, he was distraught as he did not intend to create a weapon of war and attempted to destroy his creation in their hovertanks. Lieutenant Dana Sterling initially agreed to help him but the clone Zor Prime convinced them of the necessity of the weapon. However, Nichols left the scene as he was deeply saddened how his peaceful creation had been turned into a weapon of war. (Masters Saga: "The Hunters")