Monday, December 7, 2015

Sphero BB-8 Named In Popular Science Innovation List

Boulder-based Sphero--which appears to have firmly hitched itself to what appears to be what might be the biggest, merchandising machine in history, Star Wars: The Force Awakens--resulting in a feature on the front cover of December's Popular Science. Sphero's BB-8 robotic ball is named one of "Today's 100 Greatest Innovations Of The Year" in the issue, which was released this week. Interestingly enough, the magazine also features an interview with the special effects artists who created the original BB-8 robot for the Star Wars film, who call the Sphero BB-8 just a "hamster in a ball" and say that the BB-8 used in the film is actually a "totally different beast". Sphero's BB-8 apparently came after the invention of BB-8 for Star Wars. Sphero's BB-8 was recently named one of the most searched-for toys by Google, and replicas of BB-8 are prominently featured in displays at Target and other retailers. BB-8 is also prominently featured in the latest issue of TIME, although that magazine's cover goes to R2-D2 instead.