Hobbyist builds wrist-mounted, laser-sighted crossbow

A lot of people think crossbows are pretty cool. Lasers, miniaturized things, and wearable devices also tend to rate pretty high on the neat-o-meter. It goes to follow, therefore, that a small wrist-mounted laser-sighted crossbow should have a lot of admirers. Well, laser hobbyist Patrick Priebe built just such a device, and his video of it in action has already racked up over 100,000 hits in just four days. As it turns out, the "WristBow" is just the latest of his cyberpunk-esque creations.

The device's housing, bow body and bolts (or "arrows") are all made out of aluminum. The bolt rest and trigger string guides are composed of Teflon, the trigger and bow strings are steel cable, while brass and steel were used in other areas, such as the bolt tips.

"[It] was only a weekend-project I started, because I had a knee surgery and needed some distraction" Priebe told us. "I wanted to make something without electric components. Pure mechanics."

Considering that it's his first crossbow, it works pretty darn good. As can be seen in the video below this article, the bolts appear to have no problem going right through a soda can, or shattering a light bulb. Its laser sighting system (an optional extra he decided to add on) also seems to be highly accurate.

As mentioned, however, the WristBow is simply the most recent of his projects. Some of his others have included a palm-mounted laser capable of popping balloons from several feet, and quite a snazzy-looking 1-megawatt pulse laser gun, with a beam capable of piercing thin metal and plastic. He is currently working on an electromagnetic semi-automatic Gauss Gun.

Should you feel that you'll be lacking sufficient protection when the tin robots or balloon people attack, you might be interested in knowing that all of Patrick's devices can be made to order - just pay a visit to his website. Apparently a real-life superhero has already expressed an interest in acquiring a pulse laser gun of his own. "I was able to convince him that it's not the right item for his needs" said Priebe.

Source: Engadget