A pair of resourceful Star Wars fanatics have put forth a convincing theory on the inner workings of BB-8, the adorable droid set to make its film debut in The Force Awakens this holiday season.
The new droid, which will also be available as a $150 toy for franchise fans, has a head that can remain mostly stationary even as its spherical body is rolling madly to move it from place to place. The effect almost makes it look as if BB-8’s head can defy gravity.
Not so, say the pair of Spanish designers who started a website explaining how the machine works. The fans dug up a patent filed by Disney’s Imagineering group back in 2010 which appears to explain how the BB-8 functions. The patent describes a robot that uses omni wheels to allow its spherical body to roll in any direction, with each wheel being connected to a motor. Gyroscopes and acceleromoeters are used to determine the machine’s postioning. A base plate serves as a counterweight, helping the robot maintain a low center of gravity.
A mast running vertically through the sphere is the key to BB-8’s “floating head” appearance. The fan mockup of BB-8’s internals show the most connecting to the head via a rotation motor that lets the head spin independently of the robot’s spherical body. A flexible joint lower down on the mast allows for additional maneuverability. A separate mockup with less basis in Disney’s patent uses a stool design as the head’s base instead of mast. A magnetic rail shaped like a semicircle sits atop the stool, allowing the head to roll forward and backward separately from the body’s movements.
Eventually, the secrets of the BB-8 will be revealed—at least of its toy version. Fans will be able to buy the gadget and break it down into parts starting Friday.
- Meet TIME’s Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
- After Visiting Both Ends of the Earth, I Realized How Much Trouble We’re In
- Google Is Making It Easier to Remove Personal Info From Search
- Oil Companies Posted Huge Profits. Here’s Where The Cash Will Go (Hint: Not Climate)
- Column: We Asked Hundreds of Americans About Abortion. Their Feelings Were Complicated
- A Short History of the Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Marcos Family
- Long-Lasting Birth Control Is Already Hard to Get. Advocates Worry It May Only Get Worse
- Who Should Be on the 2022 TIME100? Vote Now