what happens if your “enemies” decided to storm your Nerf fortress outright? well, we say build yourself a couple of Nerf Vulcan Sentry Gun to fortify your stronghold, that’s what you should do. designed and built by Instructables contributor BrittLiv (otherwise known as Britt Liv Ulrike Michelsen), the Nerf Vulcan Sentry Gun is based on the Hasbro’s Nerf Vulcan foam launching toy gun and is modified to automatically aim and fire at the targets. while automation is the main purpose of this sentry gun, seen here in an appropriate black paint job, it can also be manually controlled using a joystick, a controller and even your computer mouse. at the heart of the Nerf Vulcan Sentry Gun is an Arduino Uno which processes the instructions from the computer and fires the Vulcan, while visuals are acquired through the use of a webcam mounted just below the gun. the software can even be programmed to recognize logo to minimize the odds of “friendly fire” (but we can’t help you if you choose to stand sideway to the gun… just saying).
two battery-powered servos are incorporated in this setup: one for turning movement from side-to-side and the other takes charge of the tilt movement for the up and down movement. as witnessed from the demo video (which you can find after the break), the gun is fully capable of movement anticipation which makes it pretty quick, which also means a difficult time for your “enemies”. perfect for deploying around your flags to ward off your opposition while your team can focus on your assault. it also worthy to note that this gun is not all brain and no brawl; the hardware itself is also beefed up with a heavier 5 kilogram spring and a high voltage battery for its motorized firing mechanism, resulting in a higher projectile speed and a faster rate of fire. we doubt Hasbro will be introducing such a Nerf gun anytime soon, so the only way for you to own one is to get your hands dirty and DIY one yourself by following BrittLiv detailed instructions over at the Instructables. though not explicitly indicated, i guess there are some prerequisites like having the technical hands and the knack for software tinkering before you embark on such a rewarding project.
