Students at BYU have created a working grappling hook inspired by the Dark Knight version of Batman's famous accessory.

The hook, which launches from a firearm and lifts the user via a winch system, was built for an Air Force Research Lab competition, and is due to compete against other entries later this week. In tests, it has proved capable of covering vertical distances as great as 90 feet and lifting up to 300 lbs.

"Batman is cool because he has no special powers. He relies only on his strength and advanced technology. Here at BYU, we get to build that technology," said the BYU team's faculty advisor, Greg Bishop.

[technabob.]