SkyNet: The basics

SkyNet, as I said earlier, is a project to build an automated, electro pneumatic dart gun. We start with this, a Nerf EBF-25 Vulcan.

The basic idea is to, first, remount it to a motorized, swiveling platform and replace the battery power with a plug-in source of slightly higher voltage. That will permit continuous operation, control by wire, and an increased rate of fire (something like four rounds a second, which means another early modification will be the addition of ammunition capacity and replacing the feed mechanism with something that will deal with that increased capacity).

The next stage is to set up a microcontroller, in communication with a computer, to control the mount motors, trigger solenoid, and fire control and monitoring hardware. We will be using an Arduino microcontroller to talk to a Processing sketch, initially. A coaxially mounted webcam will provide a video feed to the Processing sketch to allow better control.

Once that's complete, and a fully-functional prototype has been built, it'll be time for cosmetic modification, to make it look like something more attractive than a chunk of bright-yellow plastic.

Follow-on stages will increase the amount of autonomy the machine has: first, making it controllable over IP, with a web interface, so that the operator can be far distant from it. Then, making it center up on the brightest, reddest spot in the webcam's field of vision (i.e., a laser pointer) and fire when it's centered. Finally, and most challengingly, basic motion detection will be added, so that the machine will center up on anything that moves in its field of view and fire, making it fully autonomous.

I have started acquiring parts and already written much of the control code for the first iteration. I should begin construction on the platform sometime in the next day or so for initial testing. We shall see how it goes.