How To Create A Robot Icon

Engineers built seven versions of BB- 8 for filming, plus one for red carpet events.

- Erik Sofge

Star Wars: The Force Awakens doesn’t hit theaters until December 18, but it already has a breakout star: BB-8, the endearing ball droid that made its debut in the movie trailer this summer. Rather than rely on computer graphics, director J.J. Abrams asked the film’s creature-effects (CFX) team to create an actual BB-8 in the form of cleverly engineered props. We spoke with Matt Denton, electronic design and development supervisor, and Josh Lee, senior animatronic designer, about the inspiration and inner workings of the most iconic science-fiction robot in years.

Popular Science: How was BB-8 conceived?

Josh Lee: It was J.J.’s idea. We first saw it as a sketch on a napkin that had been scanned and emailed over to us. It caused a lot of head-scratching about how we would achieve it on set. So the first thing I did was build a model out of polystyrene and anything I could lay my hands on. I just wanted to get the movements down—the ball rolling, the head pitching. Instantly it was full of character.

PS: What did you do to give the robot personality?

Lee: You can cock the head. You can roll with the head pitched forward,which gives it a look of intent. As you go around a corner, you can lean the head into the corner to look controlled—but if you lean away, it looks wacky.

Matt Denton: In animatronics, our goal is to make robots not look like robots most of the time. If one looks robotic, usually we’ve failed. We try to make it look emotive and expressive, like an animal.

PS: How does BB-8 compare with