Nerf gun redesign

From DDL Wiki

Revision as of 11:17, 2 October 2009

Executive Summary

Market Research

Because Nerf guns are so established in the marketplace, there are many groups and communities with products similar to Nerf's. In order to conduct our market research, we first defined the specific areas of the market we wanted to look at. These include: Nerf weapons, off-brand Nerf weapons, online Nerf modification communities, patents pertaining to toys, and youtube videos of children with their modified weapons.

Nerf Weapons:

There is an incredible amount and variety of nerf weapons available. Just looking at the guns that shoot darts, there already exists a gun for just about every purpose. There are small guns, large guns, guns with massive ammo clips, battery powered guns, two in one guns, guns with electronic games/scorekeeping, and guns with interchangable parts. See this page for all the guns listed on Nerf's website. Because of the shear number of Nerf guns that already exist, it is clear that they have filled their own niche very well. A better product might be able to distinguish itself by appealing to a different age group, or by having a very unique design (or combination of designs).

Patents:

There are currently 40 active patents for projectile launching toys covering both functional mechanisms and ornamental designs. These patents cover the following mechanisms:

• Hydrodynamic, hand-launched projectiles
• Squirt guns
• Cap gun
• Toy slingshot
• Crank actuated firing
• Level actuated firing
• Compressed air firing, various accompanying air compressing mechanisms
• Compressed member firing, various associated configurations using compressed member firing
• Fly wheel launching
• Leaf spring launching
• Turbine launching
• Safety mechanisms for limiting pressure/shot distance
• Multiple shot firing mechanisms
• 2-in-1 gun?
• Remote controlled gun

User Study

Redesign

Nerf Gun Product Improvement Ideas

Below are a list of 109 ideas brainstormed for way to improve performance of the NERF gun. The ideas are categorized by the specific area of performance that they would improve.

Usability:

1. More intuitive to use, operation should not require instructions
2. Add indicator to let user know when gun is ready to fire
3. Make easier to disassemble for repair/adjustment
4. Make easier to assemble during manufacture/during reassembly post-repair
5. Make gun more robust
6. Secure internal components
7. Function as a crossbow
8. Create quiver to carry bow and “arrows”
9. Function as a bow & arrow
10. Function as a shotgun
11. Modify firing mechanism to pull back to cock rather than pushing forward to cock
12. Modify ergonomics so that gun is easier to hold/maneuver
13. Add grip tape to grips
14. Make easier to store
15. Make bow arms collapsible
16. Make gun more compact
17. Make gun mountable
18. Add a strap to sling gun over shoulder or back
19. Make gun soft so it can be used to hit opponents (melee weapon)
20. Make gun customizable with modular parts that can be added to the gun

Environmental Impact:

1. Bio-degradable ammunition
2. Use “green” plastic
3. Mark gun and packaging as recyclable

Aesthetics:

1. Give gun a better name
2. Make casing clear so that operation of internal mechanisms can be viewed
3. Make internal parts that are visible more aesthetically pleasing
4. Reduce noise made when firing gun
5. Make noise made by firing gun more interesting
6. Change barrel lock design so that they do not stick out of sides of gun
7. Make decorative feature more clearly decorative so that they aren’t confused with functional parts
8. Re-design front handle so that it does not look like it contains the trigger
9. Change color scheme so that gun is more concealable (camouflage, “invisible”, etc.)
10. Change color scheme to appeal to target audience
11. Make themed guns (ie Halo)
12. Make guns that interact with user by talking

Ammunition:

1. More rugged ammunition
2. Heavier ammunition to increase accuracy
3. Re-design fins on dart
4. More aerodynamic ammunition
5. Add suction tip to dart
6. Make ammunition that sticks to people
7. Smaller ammunition
8. Use ball ammunition
9. Bouncing ammunition
10. Skipping ammunition
11. Ammunition with erratic flight behavior
12. Whistle-tip ammunition
13. Beeping ammunition
14. Ammunition that plays a song
15. Washable paint-tipped ammunition
16. Ammunition with colored LED tip
17. Projectile net
18. Tethered ammunition (with break-away tether)
19. Put metal in ammunition for use with metal detector to locate darts
20. Magnetic darts
21. Heat-seeking ammunition
22. Homing ammunition
23. Embed RFID in ammunition for tracking
24. “Smart” ammunition, know if it hit someone
25. Add streamers to end of dart
26. Customizable ammunition (color, size, etc)
27. Message in a bottle ammunition (ammunition can be used to store & deliver small objects, messages, etc)
28. Self-propelled ammunition
29. Spreading ammunition (shotgun style)
30. Exploding ammunition
31. Water friendly ammunition
32. Water balloon ammunition

Ammunition Use:

1. Make reloading faster
2. Magazine feed for ammunition
3. Belt feed for ammunition
4. Motorized loading mechanism
5. Automatic reloading
6. Add ammunition storage
7. Re-design ammunition storage so it is less likely to damage the ammunition
8. Use a universal nozzle that can shoot many types of ammunition
9. Make gun able to shoot multiple round
10. Load ammunition from rear instead of from front
11. Make single action cocking mechanism
12. Ammunition vacuum
13. Ammunition-retrieving claw
14. Ammunition-retrieving robot

Fire Power:

1. Make gun shoot further
2. Add a stiffer spring
3. Add a better air seal
4. Make gun able to fire multiple shots simultaneously
5. Add variable pressure system to control shot distance
6. Add different power levels to control shot distance
7. Design separate attachments to improve gun performance
8. Compressed air firing mechanism
9. Motorized firing mechanism

Accuracy:

1. Design better aiming mechanism
2. Remove plastic lens
3. Replace plastic lens with magnifying lens
4. Add laser sight
5. Flashlights mounted on gun
6. Night vision sight
7. Mount mirrors on gun to see behind user & around corners

Warfare/Game play:

1. Nerf game rule book
2. Nerf game variations card
3. Nerf arcade game
4. Nerf video game
5. Nerf mines
6. Nerf mortars
7. Nerf grenades
8. Body armor
9. Riot gear
10. Shield that darts stick to so users can block, capture, and user opponents ammunition
11. Shield that attaches to side of Nerf gun
12. Nerf spy equipment

<our 5 new ideas>

Plasma Double Shot:

This weapon was designed to be simple, effective, and fun. In order to use this two barreled gun, the user simply places the green foam balls (~1.5" diameter) in the either of holes at the top of the gun, and gravity then lets them sink into the ready position (one ball per barrel). From there, the user pulls back on the bar on the bottom of the gun, which compresses two large springs. When the user pulls the trigger, both springs are released simultaneously, and hit both of the loaded green balls.

One of the key differences with this weapon, is that is uses green foam balls instead of the usual foam darts. This was specifically chosen to allow the gun to be loaded by gravity, rather than user action. One of the downsides of a foam ball rather than a dart is the increased profile which suffers from air resistance. To compensate for this, the gun was designed to contain a very large springs which directly contacts the balls, minimizing energy losses and ensuring a powerful shot. The gun is also very easy to use, with the user only needing to put foam balls into the hole at the top (which will be able to hold at least 6 per barrel), then pulling back the bar, and then hitting the trigger. There are no other motions necessary.

Aesthetically, the gun is appealing due to it's minimalist nature. There are no extra parts, no sharp edges, and the color scheme can be something simple to go along with that. This is on thing that should be able to set it apart from other guns, especially Nerf's guns.

The top picture (below) is a side view of the gun with most of the interns drawn out. The cavity the balls fall through, the spring, and the handles are all visible. Other things that are not drawing in this view include the trigger mechanism (which works the same way as the Big Bad Bow) and the fasteners. The bottom picture is a simple front view, illustrating both barrels, and the general shape of the gun.

Needler:

As an inspiration for this weapon, users were asked what could be done to make Nerf guns more fun to play with as part of a game. Many users commented that they thought Nerf guns would be more fun if they were more like weapons from the Halo video game series. The design and function of weapons in Halo were investigated to determine how these principles could be applied to improving the design and function of the Nerf gun. It was found that several of the Covenant (ie bad guy) weapons resembled toys and would be a good source for visual design inspiration. The needler gun, a purple and blue gun that fires pink spikes, was chosen as the basis for the design. The ornamental design of the needler gun was modified for the Nerf gun to create a more ergonomic design that users less material. The ammunition was designed with a geometric design (resembling the shape of the spikes fired by the needler) on top of a traditional cylindrical shape so that the ammunition would be easier to load and fire. In Halo, the needler feeds spikes that stick vertically into the the top surface of the gun through the weapon to fire them through the front. To simulate this ammunition loading design, ammunition is stored in several clips of 4 darts that fit into the top surface of the gun. A clip is then removed from the top of the gun and loaded into the front of the gun to prepare for firing. The gun would then be able to fire either all 4 darts and the same time, or each of the 4 darts in succession. The internals of the gun would be designed to significantly increase firing distance over a traditional Nerf gun to further increase user satisfaction with the product

Side

Top

Bottom

Ammunition

Rail Gun

Some of the best parts of all three of the guns that we analyzed are as follows: the Big Bad Bow was the most accurate and looked the best, the Rapid Fire 20 had automatic fire and the Buzz Saw had an ammunition magazine so that the user could fire several times before having to be reloaded. The Rail Gun combines these ideas into a weapon that fires arrow or dart shaped rounds accurately, from an integral clip so that the user has several shots before having to reload, and looks good (I hope). The ammunition is similar to the rounds used by the Big Bad Bow, but has no fins and is heavier in the nose for stability. Loading the clip is done from the top of the weapon, above the firing chamber. Rounds are simply pushed down one after another. The firing mechanism is essentially the same as the one in the Big Bad Bow but there is no air cylinder. The piston head makes physical contact with the dart and accelerates it down the barrel, which is where the accuracy will come in. Finally, a compressed air system will be used to re-cock the piston following each shot. The user will use the weapon as though it was a semi-automatic rifle. A scope can even be added with simple windage and elevation knobs for long distance aiming.