Segment Data - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($) segment	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments of company \| segment	2
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales from products	$ 80,974	$ 67,491
Net sales from services	20,241	11,751
Net sales	101,215	79,242
Cost of product sales	32,434	27,072
Cost of service sales	4,320	3,500
Cost of sales	36,754	30,572
Gross margin	64,461	48,670
Sales, general and administrative	35,759	30,857
Research and development	15,119	12,463
Income from operations	13,583	5,350
TASER Weapons
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	63,524	57,671
Software and Sensors
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	37,691	21,571
Operating Segments \| TASER Weapons
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales from products	63,524	57,671
Net sales from services	0	0
Net sales	63,524	57,671
Cost of product sales	20,543	18,026
Cost of service sales	0	0
Cost of sales	20,543	18,026
Gross margin	42,981	39,645
Sales, general and administrative	21,265	17,216
Research and development	2,960	2,212
Income from operations	18,756	20,217
Operating Segments \| Software and Sensors
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales from products	17,450	9,820
Net sales from services	20,241	11,751
Net sales	37,691	21,571
Cost of product sales	11,891	9,046
Cost of service sales	4,320	3,500
Cost of sales	16,211	12,546
Gross margin	21,480	9,025
Sales, general and administrative	14,494	13,641
Research and development	12,159	10,251
Income from operations	$ (5,173)	$ (14,867)

The aggregate costs related to goods produced and sold and services rendered by an entity during the reporting period. This excludes costs incurred during the reporting period related to financial services rendered and other revenue generating activities.

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Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements.

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The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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The aggregate total costs related to selling a firm's product and services, as well as all other general and administrative expenses. Direct selling expenses (for example, credit, warranty, and advertising) are expenses that can be directly linked to the sale of specific products. Indirect selling expenses are expenses that cannot be directly linked to the sale of specific products, for example telephone expenses, Internet, and postal charges. General and administrative expenses include salaries of non-sales personnel, rent, utilities, communication, etc.

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