Meet BB-8

• Describe the two robots.
• What’s similar and what’s different?
• Were these robots designed for this climate?
• What might they be saying to each other?
• How does BB-8 move?

Here are some quotes from the creators of BB-8:

“I named him BB-8 because it was almost onomatopoeia. It was sort of how he looked to me, with the 8, obviously, and then the two B’s.” (Abrams, 2015)

“We always imagined BB-8 as being quite manipulative. I think he knows he’s cute. He knows that he can win people over. And he uses that like children do to get his own way. In this film, he has a very important mission that he has to accomplish and so he uses his personality, his coyness, and all of those things.” (Scanlan)

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB-8)

• Now design your own droid. Consider its name, how it will move and how it communicates. Does it have a personality? What is its function?
• Links to DT & Computing – create a voice for your droid (use a sound effects app); create a Scratch game; design and build a model of your droid.

Image credit: Goro Fujita