Did You Know that this Star Wars Character was Made in Colorado?
If you're a Star Wars fan, you're probably well aware of BB-8, a droid that starred in the final trilogy. BB-8's design was reminiscent of one of the original droids in the series, R2-D2, with one major difference - his lower half looked less like a garbage can and more like a big metal ball that actually rolled at pretty impressive speeds while his head remained stationary.
It's easy to assume that someone like George Lucas, or a company like Industrial Light and Magic, was behind the droid's design, but it was actually a Colorado company that brought the now-iconic BB-8 to life.
Star Wars Droid Brought to Life by a Colorado Company
While the actual character and design of BB-8 were created in Hollywood, the company that took that design and recreated the droid in a real-life form that didn't have to rely on CGI in any way is a Boulder, Colorado-based outfit known as Sphero.
Paul Berberian, the CEO of the company, was given photos of the droid by Disney and after piecing together just how this newly designed droid operated, began work on a tangible version.
Sphero ingeniously built the BB-8 model using magnets which, much like the computer-generated version we see in the films, allow the body of the droid to roll around while its head remains stationary.
In addition, the droid created by Sphero is also able to move its head side-to-side, which can be controlled using a smartphone app.
Following the creation of their BB-8, Sphero has also released other Star Wars merchandise including this cute droid's evil cousin, BB-9E.
[KDVR]