The New Star Wars Smart Droids Are Here!
Star Wars first appeared on screen in 1977 and won over fans immediately with its unique look and feel. Its special effects have made it a global phenomenon, from lightsabres, spacecrafts, and diverse worlds, to robots and droids. And these droids have now been brought to life by smart toy maker Sphero. In addition to our old friend BB-8, you can also choose from two new additions to the lineup - the legendary R2-D2 or the First Order member BB-9E. All three droids can move around right in your living room. What amazing things can these intelligent Star Wars companions do?
Straight Out of the Films
The cute, diminutive droids are faithful replicas of their older and bigger brothers, whom you saw in films such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. You can hardly find any significant differences in the appearance and behaviour of these droids. In the screenshots below, you can see just how closely these smart toys match their counterparts from the movies.
As in the films, these droids are curious and inquisitive and will communicate with you with beeps and a variety of other sound effects. For an even more realistic experience, you can let your companion express its personality through several pre-programmed animated reactions and movements.
The Stylish Pedestal Is Also an Induction Charger
Instead of a classic micro USB port, the droid's internal battery uses an induction charger. Just place the droid on the pedestal and it will begin charging automatically. The pedestal is styled to match the overall look of each particular droid, and on the practical side, it acts as a stand to stop the round BB-8 or BB-9E from rolling off the table. The battery needs to charge for about 3 hours. At full charge, your curious companion is ready to play for up to 60 minutes.
Full Control with Your Smartphone or Tablet
Just as the astromech robot R2-D2 wandered the sandy planet of Tatooine, your little companion can also roam around a flat or house. Just install the app, available for free on all Android or iOS devices. When you launch the app, the droid and your smartphone will be paired via Bluetooth Smart 4.0.
You can fully control your droid using the joystick on the phone's display, up to 30 meters away. Next to the joystick, you'll find the button for a temporary speed increase, and you can also adjust the droid's default speed in the settings. The controls are easy and intuitive enough that even the youngest operators will learn it within the first few runs. Luckily, the droids are tough enough to withstand the odd fall or impact, and they're even waterproof. There are also several pre-set motion patterns in the application (for example, a figure eight), so you can show off the droid's movement hands-free.
Let R2-D2 Explore Your Surroundings
When you activate Patrol mode in the app, your droid switches to fully autonomous mode and begins to explore every area of the room it's in. Unfortunately, the droid doesn't have built-in sensors, so it will often run full-speed into walls, furniture, or someone's legs.
After a long while, your smart droid will begin to find its way around the room better, as the app keeps track of the direction and speed of its movement. Over time, the app uses that data to build a basic map of the space that helps the droid avoid previously encountered obstacles.
Star Wars Droids Can Do Holographic Communication
What kind of a droid would it be without holographic messaging? Sphero has come up with a clever way to enrich its smart companion by adding the ability to display holographic messages. It all happens in Augmented Reality (AR) – you record a short message on your smartphone or tablet, then point your device at the droid, and your message will be projected from the droid's head "holographically" on the smart device's screen. Again, you can demo the ability with several pre-prepared sample messages in the app.
A Robot That Listens and Reacts
Another nice feature brought to you by the smartphone app is voice control. You can teach your droid to respond to a series of simple commands. For example, by saying "BB-8" you can get his attention and then tell him to move forward and back again.
Star Wars Battlefront 2, the fourth installment of the BattleFront game series will arrive exactly two years after the first one, on 17 November 2017.
The Perfect Companion &nsbp; Not Just for Star Wars Fans
Whether you're barely into the Star Wars series, or you regularly turn up at fan events in Darth Vader costume, Sphero's intelligent droids have something to offer. They're a near certain hit with the little ones, and thanks to the stylish stand/charger or the special trainer platform they look terrific on the shelf as a collector's item. Let's admit it - hasn't everyone had a dream or two about having their very own R2-D2 or BB-8 at home?
