Meet the RC Nerf Tank–proof that a pile of junk combined with a little bit of tech can make an awesome homemade robot. Canadian modder “Travis7s” created Nerf by putting together metal from scrap bins, a toy gun, an iPod Nano, 24V Valco gearmotors, magnets, a 24V 3000mAh ‘Battlepack’ NiCad battery and a wireless camera. The robot even has a laser.
With these–and a few other handy extras–combined, the 23-year-old made a super cool fighting robot, hence the name Nerf Tank.
Its main weapon is a modified Nerf Vulcan on a movable turret and some wheels off a toy truck to drive the whole thing along. The gun’s trigger is fired remotely via a servomechanism, which is a form of sense controller.
Inside the modded gun, a camera has also been placed that can take pictures and muted videos, all the while being relayed back to a computer. The laser pointer was also added to the top of the Nerf Vulcan.
A Sabretooth 2X10 speed controller, received with a Futaba 7 channel unit at 75MHz, controls the battle machine.
The robot can also have its own battle cry with the onboard 100-watt speakers connected to an old iPod Nano.
Due to the magnets, if you decided to wreak havoc in stealth mode, the toy gun can be easily removed from the chassis. No one has to know who just fired toy pellets at them…
If you don’t believe the ability of the robot to put up a good fight, check out its first test drive:
Travis7s is currently working on improving the Nerf Tank, such as adding solar panels and tweaking aesthetics.
If there was ever a way to make use out of a rubbish plastic gun and leftover materials, this has to be it.
[via Instructables]
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