One of the issues I have with all the methods I've seen to make rivets faster than the traditional burn in primer, or glue drop, is that there is no way to change the spacing. You need to be able to adjust the spacing to match the actual aircraft you are modeling. Take a look at a lot of planes and you will find that not only are there different size rivets, but the spacing of the rivets are different from one area to another on the same plane.. Also, there are double rows and offset rows to deal with too. There would need to be methods of dealing with these variations for it to be of interest to me.
Please don't take this as a knock, or to discourage you, they are simply issues that matter to me that I offer for consideration. Advancement and improvement in tools and methods are always great endeavors. If it did all the above, it would be worth every bit of the $100 -$150 you suggest. I would be happy to have a tool that simply made it easier to apply the rivets in a straight line.

Scott