YouTube star and BYU graduate Mark Rober visited his alma mater to collaborate with BYU students and professors to make the world’s smallest Nerf gun. While the toys may pack a small punch, the project made a big impact on the BYU College of Engineering.
Additionally, the project marked a milestone for Mark Rober’s YouTube channel. It all started nearly a year ago, when Rober reached out to BYU engineering professors Scott Howell and Spencer Magleby.
“As it turns out, there’s only one place in the world that leads the research in creating really tiny bendable machines from a single part. Which meant it was time for me to head back to my alma mater, BYU, to visit some old friends,” Rober said.
Magleby was excited to work with his students and Rober, because of the opportunities it offered them.
“The really great thing here is it gives students a chance to interact with a project and really pushing some boundaries,” Magleby said.
BYU engineering student Grant Oglelvie jumped at the chance to work with Rober.
“Having the world’s smallest Nerf gun is what it is, it’s for show, right?” Oglevie said.
He addressed the importance of the technology involved in the microscopic nerf gun.
“With these tiny pieces that move back and forth, we can do a lot of interesting sensing applications. So your phone knows that it’s in portrait mode or landscape mode,” Oglevie said.
The department celebrated the successful completion of the project with food, speeches, public viewing of the video and some microscopic memorabilia.
The engineering department continues to utilize this same tech in collaboration with NASA and other fields.
