NASA engineer creates glitter bomb to fend off porch pirates

ex-NASA engineer mark rober has come up with a glittery way to stop thieves from stealing your mail when its left on the porch. using his industry expertise and some clever creativity he has created a glitter bomb disguised as a parcel that douses the would-be robbers in the sparkly stuff.

images courtesy of mark rober

rober spent six months developing the concept after discovering thieves had stolen an amazon delivery from his doorstep. in a youtube video, rober demonstrates what happens when a would-be thief attempts to steal what looks like an apple home pod delivered to his home. when the package is opened, glitter is sprayed everywhere in addition to fart-scented spray which is repeatedly distributed into the air.

a portion inside is contoured to suit the angling of the phones

in the video rober explains the various technology he used to create the device which uses GPS tracking, four cameras, a motor, and of course glitter and fart spray. inside, a custom print circuit board with a built in accelerometer checks GPS signals to detect whether the parcel has been moved or not. if so, four phones placed on each side the package will be switched on and start recording.

four phones inside are positioned to capture the would-be thief from every angle

this is all enclosed within a 3D-printed portion contoured to suit the angle of the phones which each have LTE data plans so any footage captured is uploaded onto the cloud. meanwhile the GPS technology inside each phone allows the package to be easily located wherever it goes. the main feature however is the glitter-loaded cup placed at the top of the parcel which spins using a motor located beneath it. once opened the motor is triggered to spin, dousing the criminal in sparkles.

design program CAD was used to create renders of the device

‘ultimately when they open the package I just wanted to celebrate their choice of profession with a cloud of glitter because, I mean, who doesn’t love glitter?‘, rober says.

video by mark rober

a sketch rober drew as an initial plan