The NERF Gun Arm

Valentin Squirelo, co-founder of Hackerloop, a company of tinkerers and engineers based in Paris, was inspired to make a bionic NERF gun arm for his friend, Nicolas Huchet. Nicolas had lost his right hand. Being a NERF enthusiast, Nicolas could not anymore participate in NERF war games.

But that was all about to change!

For a NERF enthusiast, a NERF blaster is a toy that you just don’t grow out of. Whether it’s your child, friend, or spouse, you will often notice that the fun they experience with NERF blasters is too awesome to throw away.

Valentin wanted his friend to continue having fun with NERF. He opined that every NERF enthusiast should enjoy a good NERF fight, and that included his friend Nicolas even if he had a special condition. How could an amputee have a little fun with NERF guns? This was the challenge Valentin was willing to take on for his friend.

The Hackerloop Challenge

Hackerloop is an organisation made up of people who love to play around with computer components. With regards to making a bionic NERF gun arm, the components were readily available upon order on the Internet.

The NERF gun Valentin and his team made has a sensor that detects muscle contraction. This activity is called electromyography or EMG. EMG is a way to use your body to communicate with a computer and get it to do things. And, that is exactly how Valentin and his team rigged a NERF gun and transformed it into a bionic arm.

To some people, reading an article about someone making a NERF gun arm may not be interesting. But just think about this – if people can build bionic arms out of NERF blasters and basic electronic components, imagine what else we can do for individuals who need prosthetics!

Having a NERF gun arm probably isn’t the top wish list of most amputees. However, making one was an exciting undertaking Valentin could do for his friend. For Nicolas, losing an arm meant there would be many things and activities he needed to adjust on and re-learn. Having a NERF gun arm was something that was fun and easy to learn.

Swarmfire NERF Blaster

How did they make the NERF gun arm? The gun was a Swarmfire NERF Blaster. They had the handle removed and applied some 3D printing to make it a wearable prosthetic with a custom-made case. Obviously, the blaster was totally torn apart and modified.

Three electrodes were put near Nicolas' elbow, which would sense the contraction of the muscles and harvest its kinetic energy. They also put a micro-controller that would act as a mini-computer and would receive the electrical signals to activate the blaster.

It was a perfect mechanism! This same technology can have more than 1,000 uses which can help other amputees perform simple tasks.

Once the gun was complete, Nicolas took it to the streets for a better test run. Many people were shot that day, but to Nicolas, it was a freeing experience. He was so happy to know that he could play NERF battle games with his friends again.