Star Wars VII Soccer Ball Droid

[AndyJ]

Okay...I think I may be the only one on the planet that likes the design of the new droid. It seems like it would be able to handle rough terrain easier, and I think it's probably going to be smaller then most people expect.



Making Star Wars has an image on how it (might?) works:



As for size, apparently "The body is probably a little bigger than a basketball. The body is round, of course. The head is probably as big as a cantaloupe."

Finally, here's a crude mockup of how a functional mechanism could be made that I whipped up in a few minutes.


View attachment soccwrr2.jpg

This would result in a seam in the middle, which could be filled in with split pieces of foam.

Thoughts? I realize I may be the only one in the world interested in something like this, so I don't expect much, but It could be a cool project if it's even physically possible. Some small scale testing would of course be in order to determine feasibility.

 

[Wolfsburg]

No, you're not the only one. I like him too. Sure he's cute, but so what? I think he has a R2-D2-like charm to him.

 

[Trooper_trent]

You might have to wait for a head on shot to see if it has a seam up the middle. Logistically speaking, I hope so, because that would be at least possible. I'm really hoping it's not a solid sphere and his head is held on by magic.

 

[AndyJ]

You might have to wait for a head on shot to see if it has a seam up the middle. Logistically speaking, I hope so, because that would be at least possible. I'm really hoping it's not a solid sphere and his head is held on by magic.

Here's a leaked concept photo showing that, conceptually at least, it's an unbroken sphere:



And more details from Making Star Wars on how it works:

"To allow the droid to operate functionally on screen as a puppet, the ball is allowed to role on two tracks that are either obscured or digitally removed."

I'm guessing this means it's offroad functionality isn't great after all. Also, it's a safe bet that they would digitally remove a gap in the ball as well if it existed.

 

[Trooper_trent]

I'm betting that means the ball is real and the head is cgi throughout the film. :facepalm

 

[AndyJ]

I'm betting that means the ball is real and the head is cgi throughout the film. :facepalm

Y'know, I though that too as I was posting it. Then I thought "So....they set up and leveled a track just to roll a ball down it?" Practical or not, that's kinda dumb.

So who knows. Either way, I still plan on doing small-scale testing!

 

[banthapoodoo]

WALL*E*D2 where are you?!?

 

[ecl]

I love this droid.

 

[Stirex]

So here is my concept of how the droid would work in real life...

So think of a Segway...

The mechanism inside would hold drive motors to propel the ball, power source, cpu, gyro etc... It would use something like the Segway uses to keep it upright even when you fall off, this would keep this mech. inside the ball vertical or near vertical at all times. Now the head would be held in place by magnets. Would think a donut type where you have an attracting force in the center and a repeling force around the permiter. Using electromagnetic tech, the forces could be adjusted as needed to either put some space between the head and ball, or secure it closely. i think this would be useful in terrain, more space for the bumps, less bounce on the head. As for rotating the head using magnets, again some sort ring that has a magnet that attracts a single spot on the head could rotate, dragging the had with it. I am no expert on magnetic forces, but given the other science bypasses the Star Wars universe uses....why not

 

[Blue Leader]

I think the new droid is adorable... I want one. This seems like a great droid for people who are interested in droid building to start with, because the design itself looks fairly simply... A ball with a head on it. Granted it wouldn't move, but even as a static prop it would still look pretty neat.

 

[minifig]

I like the concept of using a ball to move...I just wish it had a bit of a 'collar' to blend the head into the ball...

 

[spacebob]

Apparently a segway has the equivalent of four pc's inside constantly calculating and keeping it upright so you need to get that in there as well as the magnet system to make the connection-less join for the head.

The guys over at astromech.com and r2builders are on it already but I don't hold out much hope unless serious cheats are involved.
Having said that I expect to see a 1:1 static model or limited movement version within days of getting a scale

 

[Prototypical]

I admit that I have not made a decision on like or dislike when it comes to this droid. When you have droids that can hover, like the Interrogation Droid in ANH & ESB or the probe droid from ESB. Why would you "need" such a locomotion method?

I guess I need to see how this new droid is used on screen.


I also believe that someone will have one built, with full Remote Control, before the Opening in 12-1/2 months. :cool

 

[spacebob]

I think this is how It could be done


the fur force has it all sorted

 

[woobit]

What I imagined the first time I saw the teaser: http://i.imgur.com/h9YfSt6.png

Edit: and I quickly changed my mind

 

[hansolo2504]

I loved this little guy! I thought he was quite cute! Would really like to see
one built. Definitely want one for myself

 

[Sidewinder]

For me, the domed flat bottom head and the ball body don't gel together as a design - like two random shapes thrown together with little thought of practical functionality.

 

[Edwardowan]

I admit that I have not made a decision on like or dislike when it comes to this droid. When you have droids that can hover, like the Interrogation Droid in ANH & ESB or the probe droid from ESB. Why would you "need" such a locomotion method?

....

the same could then be said of R2D2 (or any of the R series droids) why would you have astro mechanics that needed 3 legs and rolls on the ground? why doesn't an astromech float and fly like the interrogator, the probe droid etc? heck, why even have a head that rotates.. why not just eyes all the way around?

I think its just one more type of droid... I look at it this way... I have an iPod Touch.. .does all the same stuff as the iPhone but its not a cell phone...it is cheaper but less features... this droid could be the "more affordable but less features" option at the market!

its a big galaxy and not all droids float, fly, hover... some walk, some talk, some need interpreters. I do admit that the design seems a bit disjointed to me as well right now but the design of R2D2 is a bit clunky when you really analyze him... those squared off feet with hoses sticking out the front would be the first things ripped off in a real world working environment... (Its the most likely parts to get damaged and kicked around when I take my 1:1 R2 out to conventions.)

 

[Sidewinder]

My locomotion theory: The body has an internal structure around which the ball casing moves on ball bearings etc. which are powered to move the droid about (like the mouse in a ball idea)
The head is held in place by a magnet surrounded by 3BBs which run on the inside of the casing while the head itself has a similar magnet/3BBs which protrude slightly from the bottom of the domed head. The two magnets attract each other holding the head in relative position with body's internal structure and the BBs allow the ball's casing to pass between them.
This would allow the spherical body to be solid.

 

[spacebob]

I hope when this thing is stationary in the film, arms or legs or wheels or something come out of those detailed parts because otherwise what will it even do?