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Sphero is done making licensed Disney bots like BB-8 and R2-D2
Say goodbye to Sphero's cute BB-8 robot. In fact, say goodbye to all the company's licensed products, including R2-D2, BB-9E and Cars' Lighting McQueen. According to The Verge, Sphero plans to sell its remaining inventory of licensed toys, but it will no longer manufacture more once it runs out. Indeed, the products' listings on Sphero's website says "This is a legacy product and no longer in production." The company isn't just discontinuing the models, though: It's ending its licensing partnerships completely, because it's no longer worth dedicating resources for their production.
Spin Master's BB-8 is still cute and you can get one this year
The cute spherical BB-8 was one of the many highlights of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Spin Master's near life-size replica of him was one of our favorite things about last year's Toy Fair. Unfortunately, 2016 came and went without seeing the adorable robotic companion on the silver screen -- or this particular toy on store shelves. That looks to change later this year with the announced release of the $230 Hero Droid BB-8, just in time for the bot's appearance in the next episode of the Star Wars saga.
Sphero's Force Band can now control your home over IFTTT
Sphero's motion-tracking Force Band can now control more than a tiny (and utterly adorable) BB-8 droid. The company has teamed up with If This Then That (IFTT) to integrate the "force" with countless apps and smart home devices. IFTTT, if you need a reminder, is a service that lets you automate pretty much anything with "triggers" and "actions." You can use it to turn on your Hue lights as soon as you walk through the front door, or tweet your Instagrams as native photos on Twitter. With the Force Band, you can now activate these same actions with a force push, pull or stop.
The best 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' toy gets even better
Sphero's BB-8 quickly became the most sought-after Star Wars toy when it was revealed last year. Now, the company is introducing a "Battle-worn" edition of the droid at IFA 2016, featuring a murky appearance that makes it further resemble the character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But that's not it. Along with this new rolling ball, Sphero introduced the final version of its Force Band, which lets you control BB-8 by simply waving your hand. The wearable device is also compatible with two other members of Sphero's robot family, the SPRK+ and Ollie.
Sphero's Force Band, battle-worn BB-8 arrive on September 30th
Sphero is ready to start selling Force Bands -- wristwatch-like devices that will give you a way to control its BB-8 droids with a wave of the hand -- and they sure look much better than the toy-like demo unit we tested at CES. Besides being able to control the BB-8 and Sphero's other Bluetooth robots with hand gestures, the device also issues voice prompts letting you know if there are Holocrons (images of Star Wars characters) in the environment that you can collect à la Pokémon Go. They can make light saber sounds, as well, if want to reenact Rey's and Kylo Ren's duel in your living room.
ICYMI: Brightest X-ray laser, 3D printing cartilage and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-741239{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-741239, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-741239{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-741239").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Stanford's National Accelerator Laboratory is upgrading a laser beam to make it the brightest X-ray laser in the world, enabling all sorts of as-yet unseen science. Popular Chinese phone maker Xiaomi makes a ceramic-backed phone that appears to be near indestructible. And medical researchers are using patient-derived, stem-cell cartilage to repair joints by 3D-drawing them when doing surgery, rather than harvest existing cartilage from elsewhere on the body. We'd also like to share this video of the cutest little BB-8 cosplay artist. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
You can watch 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' with BB-8
If you enjoyed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, April will likely bring more joy in the form of Blu-ray and streaming availability. Chances are that you'll sit down with friends and family to watch Finn and Rey on your own big screen, but if you find yourself alone, you could also enjoy the action with one of the film's stars. Thanks to a new app update from Sphero, the little BB-8 bot that first went on sale back in September will now watch and react to what's happening on screen with sounds and movement.
Spin Master's life-size BB-8 is too cute and too real
We all fell in love with Sphero's tiny BB-8 droid when it launched last year. But, after you finally saw The Force Awakens, maybe you found yourself wishing for something a bit... bigger? Spin Master has answered that desire at this year's Toy Fair with the introduction of a life-size BB-8 droid. It might not be controlled with an app, but it makes up for it with voice control.
You can build a life size BB-8 out of a beachball
It took just days after BB-8 was shown to the world for someone to build their own, with the first one coming 48 hours after Star Wars Celebration. We've seen 'em come in all shapes and sizes, from a customized Sphero (before the company made its own) through to thousand-dollar versions. Now, 17-year-old Angelo Casimiro thinks that he's found a way to craft a version for just $120, if you have the patience. Thankfully, almost all of the parts required are available from your local hardware store, including an Arduino Uno, some wheels and, best of all, a 20-inch beachball.
Sphero's Force Band will let you control BB-8 with gestures
Sphero's smartphone-controlled BB-8 droid (from the new Star Wars film, of course) is one of the cooler toys we've seen. The company's looking to add an extra level of interactivity to the droid by means of a wristband that'll let you roll it around with gestures. The so-called Force Band will be sold separately so that existing BB-8 owners can add gesture controls to their droid when it comes out in the fall of this year.
'Star Wars' BB-8 toy torn apart to see how it works
If your social feeds are anything like mine, they're full of folks squeeing with delight over their new BB-8 droid today. The folks at uBreakiFix got one too, but instead of playing with Star Wars: The Force Awakens' charmer, they cut it apart to see what makes the toy tick. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the little rascal operates on a gyroscope, pair of wheels and sizable counterweight to keep everything balanced inside its plastic case. Meanwhile, a magnet keeps the adorable android's head attached to the spherical body. The video below is brief, but that won't make it easier to watch for anyone who's lusting after the $150 tie-in (and either can't afford or find one) from a galaxy far, far away. I'm truly sorry.
Where to buy Sphero's BB-8 'Star Wars' toy in the UK
The Force Awakens is still a few months away, but already Star Wars fans have fallen in love with one of the film's supporting characters: BB-8. The rolling droid is a spiritual successor to R2-D2 and now, thanks to Sphero, you can buy your own miniaturised version. It connects to iOS and Android devices and, using the companion app, you can switch it between three different behavioural modes: Driving, Holographic Messaging and Patrol. But where can you buy this little curiosity on "Force Friday?" We've got you covered.
Sphero's BB-8 is the 'Star Wars' toy everyone will want
Back when Disney released the first trailer to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, one of the characters that caught most people's eye was BB-8. And for good reason: it's an adorable rolling droid. Now, Disney is bringing it to everyone through Sphero, the company known for its connected robotic toys. Meet BB-8 by Sphero, a toy version of the ball-shaped personality you'll see in the next Star Wars episode, which opens in theaters December 18th. Although this droid comes on a smaller scale than the prop introduced at the Star Wars Celebration a few months ago, it is as close to the real thing as you're going to get. Best of all, it is arguably one of the best (and cutest) Star Wars toys to date -- and that's saying a lot.
Sphero is turning the 'Star Wars' rolling droid into a real toy
BB-8, the new adorable droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has taken the world by storm over the past few days. In particular, people were mostly surprised by the fact that the character was not computer-generated imagery -- this thing is, indeed, real. Now, following earlier reports, Sphero, a company that makes robotic toys for entertainment and educational purposes, is confirming that its technology is behind Disney's now-famed BB-8 droid ball. And be ready, because there's a consumer version in the works. Sphero says it is teaming up with Disney to "deliver an incredible and authentic BB-8 experience." Further details (like pricing or availability) are slim at the moment, but Sphero did set up a landing page for people who want to stay updated on the project.
