I’m a Star Wars nerd it’s true, and so when JJ Abrams goes and releases a new movie with what is possibly the coolest robot/droid in Hollywood history, it just speaks to me. So of course I’ve had in the back of my mind to make one. I had to stop my wife impulse buying one of the Sphero BB-8 toys when they first came out, however Angleo, who is an amazing inventor on Instructables (goes by ASCAS), has taken the term ‘toy’ a step further and created a life-size replica BB-8 that moves and looks the same as his movie counterpart. It’s based on the Arduino platform and built with easily available, affordable electronics, and typical household parts. One of the best things about the Star Wars movies is the amount of props and electro-mechanical creations that they use rather than resorting to CGI effects. That’s right, that loveable, rolling ball of metal you see on screen is a real life robot. But anyway, here is a link to Angelo’s amazingly thrifty instructable which gives you all the steps you need to create your very own BB-8!
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