Star Wars-inspired lightsaber toy being developed in Sherbrooke, Que.

In a laboratory on the outskirts of Sherbrooke, Que., two men are working to realize their dream of creating the world's best, most realistic lightsaber-imitation toy in the world.

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Engineers Patrick Lessard and Christian Bdard are the minds behindCalimacil, a company that makes and distributes LARPing swords made out of high-qualityfoam.

Earlier this year, they decided to try to use their expertise to build immersive, LED-lit lightsaber-inspiredtoy that won'thurt when duellers land blows on their opponents.

Creating new technology

So far, that's involved inventing a type of foam that's both durable and translucent, as well as findinglights to colour the sword from top to bottom without breaking during combat.

"It's a very advanced technology and it's stretching our knowledge," said Bdard.

The duo have no ties toLucasfilmor Disney, so they can't used the trademarked term "lightsaber." To get around that, they're calling their toy the "LEDsaber."

Video games, but without the screen

The prototype has a corresponding app that lets owners change the swords colours to traditional Sith red or Jedi blue and green, but also into a less-traditional rainbow or orange.

As well, if development continues to go smoothly, there'll be a built-in motion sensor so players can do "training" sessions through the app.

Lessard and Bdard also want to create a mechanism that connectsmultiple LEDsabers, so they can duel against each other.

"We're both parents. Our mission is to try and have the kids going outside and playing outside. That's ourmindset," saidBdard.

"Basically the idea we have is to kill the screen and just go, play."

Earlier this year, they launcheda Kickstarter campaignto help fund the development. They sailed past their first goal of $50,000 and are currently sitting just under $100,000.

"It's a good reaction and it's telling us, 'yes, people want this,' and they want us to work harder on this type of project."

The crowdsourcing campaignwill continue until May 2016. After that, Lessard and Bdard will work on making the LEDsaber into something that can be sold in stores.