'Star Wars' Update: It Is The Real Thing! BB-8 Droid From the Force Made Into Reality

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Feb 21, 2017 11:55 PM EST

Star Wars characters C3PO and R2D2 has ravaged the world of imagination of Star Wars fanatics over many years. But a recently, superhero character BB-8 of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens makes it even more engrossing to kids and adults alike.

The BB-8 toy replicates the adorable droid's movement in the film. By fall of 2017, the Spin Master's Hero Droid may finally be released in the market for the fans to experience the droid's unique personality.

BB-8 responds to voice commands and rolls around like the original. According to Tom's Guide, it was so impressive to see the $229 droid accurately replicates the character from the movie at Spin Master's Toy Fair 2017. It measures around 16-inches tall, short enough for young children to play without getting rolled over.

Both with a controller and a voice command, BB-8's body also rolls separately from its head. And with the use of a magnet, the head and the giant spherical body are held together as well as detaching and re-attachments are made easy.

BB-8 supports at least 10 different commands that derived directly from the movie plotlines. Sensors were being used to voice commands. "Follow me" to roll behind, "ball away" to roll back steps and "Kylo Ren" to get the robot act scared are just some of the voice command stimuli that were programmed in the robot's memory.

The toy's battery is made up of induction charger to let it roll freely and smoothly. It includes a base to prevent BB-8 from rolling off when recharging for 3 hours.

As far as sophistication is concerned BB-8 toy droid also comes with an application installed in the mobile phones. Per Kotaku, Sphero's BB-8 app is well laid out and easy to use to control its movements. The virtual joystick app's graphics, animations, and sound effects are all taken from the Star Wars universe.

Moreover, the mobile app also brings BB-8 to life by expressing its personality. It has a pre-programmed animated response and movements which are activated with just the push of the button.

Holographic effects of BB-8 are also in the mobile app. Just by placing BB-8 in front of the phone's camera, BB-8 can be seen projecting holograms. It can also record a message and let it play back as a hologram from its tiny head on the smartphone screen.

Collisions are not an issue but, falls might be. BB-8 droid lack of sensors that detects dangers ahead, so this means it can easily accidentally roll down a flight of stairs or off a table. Since it is made up from plastic, a fall may end its ability to roll.

While BB-8 uses its spherical body to move by rolling to different surfaces, dust, lint, and dirt are collected in its pair of rolling wheels. Everything that gets stuck in BB-8's body will end up here.

BB-8 definitely will exaggerate Star Wars fanatics' imagination to the next level. With the combination of sophistication and creativity, perhaps this will be more intelligent than the one in the movie.

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