This is what happens when the Glitterbomb explodes with colorful biodegradable glitter and smelly skunk spray when a thief opens the stolen package.
Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton / CNET
The next time someone tries to steal a package from your porch, scare them away with the power of glitter.
Ex-NASA and Apple engineer Mark Rober has come up with a creative and colorful way to stop porch pirates from looting your Amazon packages and other supplies when you’re not around. It’s called a Glitterbomb.
Using a mix of glitter, smelly skunk fart spray and police noises, Rober has come up with the ultimate invention to stop thieves from taking your packages. His Glitterbomb not only scares the senses of the potential thieves, but it also records their reactions using four phone cameras in case you need proof of their criminal intent to the police and lawyers.
Rober used his technical skills to go after thieves, who think they have gone unnoticed, while stealing packages from people’s front porches. Rober has upgraded his version of the Glitterbomb case for three years in a row.
In the latest version, the Glitterbomb uses a fairly complex system that includes a battery-powered Arduino microcontroller on a custom printed circuit board that gives instructions to four smartphones that record the thieves’ actions regardless of which side they open the package. . It also sends Roper the exact GPS location of the thieves.
This is what a package thief looks like, covered in glitter and fark spray.
Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton / CNET
Rober has included a SIM card in this newer version of the Glitterbomb, so that he can play sounds from the box remotely. This means that after the thieves grab the package and take it home to open it, Rober can not only record the thieves and upload the video footage to the cloud, but she can also panic with noises from the police- scanner and red and blue LED police lights. .
He’s also devised a way for the pack to spray skunk-smelling fumes every 30 seconds to really torment the unsuspecting criminals. But the real entertaining element is the glitter itself. The pack now includes more biodegradable glitter to explode on the thieves too.
Rober says he hopes his Glitterbomb will convince porch thieves to think twice before stealing strangers’ packages.
Rober is no stranger to making videos of his entertaining yet useful inventions and unusual science experiments.
In May he built one Ninja Warrior Course for Squirrels to keep them away from his bird feeder. Rober also shows you how to create a moving dartboard and build it the world’s largest Nerf gun.