Parisian collective Hackerloop have made a custom non-lethal weapon with 3D printing; DIY prosthetic Nerf gun is triggered using electrodes that detect muscle activity.
In the litany of crazy projects involving 3D printing, this ranks somewhere near the top; a prosthetic Nerf Gun that fires foam bullets.
Credit belongs to the Hackerloop collective of tinkerers in Paris, France, who devised a way to trigger the gun using electrodes attached to the muscles of the forearm.
The base for the project is a Swarmfire Nerf blaster with the handle removed. Using 3D printed modifications, the device is mounted to the arm of volunteer Nicolas Huchet, who lost his right hand several years ago. With the custom made sheath and casing, he can wear the Nerf gun as a prosthetic extension of his right arm.
But the ingenious hack doesn’t stop there. In the next stage, an Arduino-like microcontroller is connected to the Nerf Gun so it can be activated at will.
A trio of electrodes are located on the elbow; each time Huchet contracts his muscle, the electrodes send the electrical activity to the microcontroller. Once the voltage reaches a certain level, the microcontroller fires the Nerf gun.
Prosthetic Nerf Gun Causes a Stir on the Streets of Paris
Huchet gamely tested the prosthetic Nerf gun on the streets of Paris. Together with a POV helmet cam, he hops around like a modern day Mega Man. Clearly he’s having lots of fun.
Until, that is, the local police appear and ask him to stop fooling around (and also to turn off his camera).
The motivation behind the project is nowhere near as sinister as the gendarmes would like to believe. Hackerloop members regularly have Nerf battles, and they wanted their friend without a hand to join in the fun. Hence, the custom non-lethal weapon they’ve been diligently developing.
And if the name Hackerloop is ringing bells, you might have heard of their other creative hacks. The collective built a replica of the house from pixar movie Up using paper and foam, then sent it floating above Paris to post photos on Instagram using a Raspberry Pi.
They also devised the Nosulus Rift, a VR fart simulator to promote South Park video game The Fractured But Whole. Each time you break wind in the game world, the Nosulus Rift emits a honking great stink capable of raising the dead. Classy!
Source: Medium
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