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How Could BB-8 Work?

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How Could BB-8 Work?

Dec. 4, 2015
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UA College of Engineering robotics expert and “Star Wars” fan Wolfgang Fink analyzes the design of astromech droid BB-8.

If you ask Wolfgang Fink, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, the real star of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is the round, two-foot tall astromech droid called BB-8.

While there is still plenty of room for improvement, BB-8’s soccer-ball-like body has striking advantages over its predecessors R2-D2 and C-3PO, says Fink, who designs and builds artificially intelligent, autonomous Mars rovers.

Over the next few decades, robots will become an integral part of society. If robots have personalities, it’s a lot easier to bridge the gap between us as humans and them as machines.”