The Hacksmith: Predator HUD and Laser Cannon

2020-06-18 | By The Hacksmith

License: See Original Project

In 1987, the world was introduced to one of the most fearsome and iconic aliens on the silver screen: The Predator. Predators are a species that hunts the most dangerous game in the galaxy and are equipped with thermal vision, invisibility, a shoulder-mounted laser cannon with automatic aim, and retractable blades. It’s no wonder the Predator made quick work of Arnold Schwarzenegger's squad in the original movie. The Predator franchise has gone on to make several more movies over the last few years and even became part of the "Aliens" universe, where predators and xenomorphs battle throughout the galaxy in movies like "Alien vs Predator".

A few years back, Hacksmith Industries considered creating a Predator helmet, but the technology and budget were limited at the time. Fast forward five years, and the technology for microcontrollers and infrared spectrum cameras has come a long way. With the help of a Hacksmith intern who's great at programming and electronics, a Predator suit is finally feasible (minus the invisibility feature). See how it was made in the first part of the Predator video series below!

How Does it Work?

The Cameras

The helmet is equipped with 3 camera modules, allowing the user to see infrared heat signatures. The first camera is a Raspberry Pi 8 megapixel sensor. The second camera module is another Raspberry Pi sensor with a missing infrared filter, capturing short wave infrared light so that the user can see in the dark. The third camera is a FLIR Lepton 3.5 Long-Wave Infrared camera module, which, like many other infrared cameras, is currently unavailable because they are an important tool to identify if a person has a fever during the COVID-19 outbreak. Luckily, Hacksmith Industries bought a FLIR 1 Pro for smartphones a year ago, which uses the same sensor, and they were able to remove the sensor from the product. Lastly, a visible light filter lens is added to the short-wave infrared camera. This filters out visible light and only lets infrared through, making the camera feed look more like the Predator’s HUD in the movies.

The Controls

The three cameras are combined by a NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX, which is housed in a backpack that HDMI cables from the helmet feed into. The camera feed is displayed by a Cineizer — similar to VR goggles. The Hacksmith team created custom software to allow the user to switch between all three cameras with the push of a button. There is also a button that makes the iconic Predator clicking noise play from the speakers.

The Laser Cannon

The laser used for shoulder-mounted laser cannon is a Laser Cube by Wicked Lasers. The Laser Cube has built-in laser targeting protocols and comes out of the box ready to function just like a Predator's laser!

Finally, some additional buttons from an old elevator panel are added to a wrist mount to activate the laser cannon.

Schematic and BOM

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