Custom Lightsaber Build
Jake Pattok, College of Engineering
Collaborators: Alex Alvarado, CoE; Roy Schlomer, SMTD; Julia Cole, Taubman; Caleb Ross, LSA; Theron Harris, LSA
As a brainchild of the Star Wars Club, several members have banded together to create a movie-accurate replica of Count Dooku’s Lightsaber from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The project involves assembling a prop kit, designing an open-source electronics system, and creating light and sound features as a tribute to the legendary Star Wars story.
The club’s membership is drawn from all over the university, including majors from Architecture, Music, Engineering, and many more, each eager to get started. The project offers artistic opportunities for designing the hilt’s appearance and capturing an authentic Star Wars look, while also including engineering-focused tasks such as the internal chassis, electronics, and software. There are also pieces which balance art and engineering elements, such as the sound design and lighting controls. The collaboration across so many different majors will yield a product greater than what any single one could accomplish alone.
The arts play a critical role in this project. From design and visual effects to responsive sound, artistic expression will be vital to the piece’s completion. While our inspiration draws from the film and literature comprising Star Wars, we will have the creative goal of adapting such fiction to the physical world. Once finished, this project will allow audiences to interact with the Star Wars universe closer than ever before.
Effective collaboration will be a top priority, with each group holding specific goals as set out in our timeline. Upon receiving our materials, mechanical engineers will take internal measurements of the prop’s pieces to design the electronics chassis and blade system. The kit will then be passed to artists for assembly and weathering. Concurrently, electrical engineers will test and assemble circuits, while computer science students develop the necessary code. Throughout the process, music students will compile sound effects and scores. Weekly meetings of all members will serve to keep the creative vision consistent across all teams and ensure the elements can be combined seamlessly, while also providing a platform for open discussion to resolve challenges.
The project will benefit the student body in multiple ways. It provides an exciting creative process for Star Wars Club members, encouraging students from a variety of backgrounds to get involved with art and engineering. The final product will be presented at a stunt choreography event that is free and open to the public. The event will offer visitors a chance to experience the finished product and spark conversation about the creative and technical work involved. It is also likely to attract more interest in the Star Wars club, fostering more interdisciplinary relationships and further projects of this caliber.
We are confident this project will be completed well before the June 2025 deadline. Alex, the project initiator, has had experience with lightsaber replicas and recently completed a similar project himself. With his oversight and the collective expertise of our team, we are confident in bringing this vision to life, creating a unique piece of art from a galaxy far, far away.