There isn’t much info on this build. Just a few images from its creator. But that’s all we need to see to know this thing is indeed a working controller. One able to play Metroid and then be worn out on the town to that special occasion, whether it’s to a convention or a game with your buddy.

While the arm itself looks like it took some work to build and paint, it looks like he just mounted a standard Wii-mote inside of the custom cannon case. Well, it still gets the job done, I suppose.

[via Reddit]

The show was trying to figure out how fast a cannonball could travel, when it misfired and shot hundreds of feet in the air, eventually going through someone’s home, hitting another roof and finally entering a minivan and hitting the dashboard.

When it hit the first home, it entered through the front door and bounced around, heading to the second floor before leaving through a back bedroom wall.

“This cannonball was supposed to go through several barrels of water and through a cinder block, and then ultimately into the side of the hill,” according to J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jj-CErr0VOY

The team was at the Camp Parks Military Firing Reservation as usual and they must have fired this thing with enormous power to do so much devastation.

[via cbslocal]

This 10 foot-long beast can fire a 3-inch steel ball over 650 feet through the air.

Instead of using gunpowder to launch its deadly projectile, this cannon gets its power by stretching 24 Thera Band Gold exercise bands, locked into launch mode using a winch mechanism. I, for one, would not want to see what happens if one of those bands ever snapped. I have enough problems when a rubber band snaps back against my hand.

This thing is just about as destructive as you’d imagine it would be, making mincemeat of an old car they fire their steel balls at. Check it out in the video below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I especially enjoyed part is where they use the force of the ball to close the hood and door of the car. Well, “close” is a bit of an understatement.

Why? Because you’re lazy. Don’t be mistaken, I’m just as lazy as you are. In fact, I keep a mini fridge in my office, just so I don’t have to walk all the way downstairs to fetch a drink. Of course, there are cooler ways to get your drink. Few of them are on par with this Mini Fridge Beer Cannon.

This thing does it all. Fire up the special app on your iPhone, select which beer will quench your thirst, aim it with the webcam interface, and fire. It even tweets when you’ve launched a beer. What more do you need from this thing? Except perhaps instructions on how to build your own.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Dvice]

Batelle’s Tactical Air Initiated Launch system (or TAIL for short) fires a sturdy titanium grappling hook on a Kevlar line as high as 100 feet in the air from up to 60 feet away.

The barrel of the powerful pneumatic cannon can be used to not only to launch grappling hooks, but any other object that’ll fit in the barrel. Think world’s most powerful t-shirt cannon, or potato cannon, marshmallow cannon, or confetti cannon. You get the point. Seriously, though, Batelle designed the thing to help with rescue missions, and other tactical missions, not food fights.

Batelle’s website currently appears to be crushed under the weight of awesomeness they generated when they posted the image above to the Internet. For now, you just need to stare at the image and admire it from afar. It’s not like you could afford one anyhow.

[Marketwire via Core77]

Seriously though, nothing generates buzz like a T-shirt shooting robot. Building the robot was also a great learning experience to the already talented members of Team 254. Shockwave can fire three shirts per second, while its movement speed is 12ft per second. Each of the SCUBA tanks when filled at 100psi is good for 200 shots.

Check out Team 254′s website for more info, pics as well as videos. If you want to rent Shockwave for your event, email Team president Derrick Dominic. And ask him what other ammunition can the robot use, will you?

[via Hack-a-Day]

Kip has put together this handy tutorial video on how to build your own t-shirt launcher from common parts you can get at any hardware or plumbing store. Once assembled, all you’ll need is a bicycle pump to put enough air in there to get the t-shirt flying through the air.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The video itself doesn’t show you everything you need, but if you head over to KipKay’s website you can get all the details. A PDF with full instructions can be found here.

The NET-2000 Shooting Net Rod uses a charge of highly compressed air to fire a net at fleeing suspects from as far as 49 feet away.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While it doesn’t spin a web of just any old size, it does fire a huge 52 square foot net made of high strength Nylon fiber. While the device may look like an innocuous flashlight when not in use, it sure packs a wallop when fired up.

In addition to law enforcement use, its designed for animal catchers to use in place of traditional manual nets. Importer Chinagrabber is selling the devices for just $419 a piece, but I’d suggest that you check with your local police department before you try to catch stray alley cats with one of these.