Nerf guns these days are very scary. They have reloadable magazines and fire automatically and look like they could provide a suitable defense during an alien invasion. But how to render one even scarier? Make it heat-seeking. Video, please:


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That terrifying toy took Grand Prize at the MAKE/Design News Gadget Freak Design Contest, netting its creator, Rick Prescott, a cool grand and a six-month storefront at Maker's Market.


Prescott paired a Nerf Vulcan machinge gun with some Devantech TPA81 thermo sensors and a ATmega168 microcontroller, and he says he has "grand plans to deploy the infrared seeking sentinel facing the entrance of my work cubical in order to speed interaction with less desirable visitors."

That's fine, but Nerf guns are first and foremost kids toys. Can you imagine anything more traumatizing for a youngster than a robotic Nerf gun that won't stop shooting them. Well, whatever! A well deserved first prize for you, Mr. Prescott! [Make via Dvice]