By Fans of Star Wars and toys had a lot to be excited about today, with today being “Force Friday,” a day where a bunch of hot new Star Wars toys and collectibles were finally available to the public. Amidst toy bundles and LEGO boxsets, the one toy that’s been getting the most buzz has been a remote-controlled miniature BB-8 droid– you know that little orange guy from the trailers.
The BB-8 runs on Sphero technology is controlled from your cell phone and comes equipped with a camera that allows it to “record and review virtual holographic videos.” Plus it responds to voice commands and allegedly adapts to the behavior of its owner. So basically a less needy and more cute Furby with wheels.
For you gearheads who are wondering how they actually brought this little guy to life, there’s a pretty cool write-up on Wired about how they designed the toy. The short version is that it is basically a mechanical hamster ball.
The BB-8 is currently available at electronics stores such as Best Buy, GameStop, and Amazon, but I wouldn’t expect this collectible to be around long– especially since its already garnering a lot of attention from early adapters on social networks like Twitter.