The new Star Wars film premieres in two weeks. Students of Creative Technology at University of Twente felt that this would be the perfect occasion to make a childhood dream come true: building their own lightsabres and using them in battle.
The Star Wars films have had a massive fan base for decades. Lightsabres play an important part in the films. Commercially, many different versions of this weapon are available. According to Creative Technology student Freek Teunen, the existing lightsabres are lacking in quality and the ones that are available do not look enough like the lightsabres from the films. This is why thirty students and several fans at University of Twente have used their technical knowledge to build a lightsabre themselves. Creative Technology lecturer Edwin Dertien designed the weapon, which includes an opaque plastic tube, a led strip, a speaker, a battery and electronics that control everything. Creative Technology teacher Edwin Dertien drew the design himself.
According to Freek Teunen: “As part of our degree programme, we learn to make prototypes and we work with this type of electronics. We just love doing what we do.” However, the programme will not be over once the weapons have been built. A teacher from the Arashi martial arts club for University of Twente lecturers and students helped the students perfect their moves and use their weapon to fight like a true Jedi.
