Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ BB-8 is undeniably cute and the little spherical droid has become a hit both on-screen and in the form of Sphero’s excellent remote controlled toy.
Now Sphero plans to allow BB-8 owners to control their droid with the Force thanks to the reveal of a new wristband that allows users to operate the droid with subtle gestures.
Here’s how Sphero’s Force Band works: resting your hand to the side causes BB-8 to enter driving mode. When your palm is down BB-8 looks away from you; with your palm up the painfully cute toy will look towards you. If you spin on the spot BB-8 will spin with you.
The Force Band wearer also has the ability to dictate BB-8’s direction by waving their hand left and right. Finally, the elevation of your arm controls BB-8’s roll speed.
If all this sounds like something you’d like to do with your BB-8, the following news is going to disappoint you. Sphero says that the commercial release of its Force Band isn’t expected until at least Fall 2016.
While a fascinating gimmick, for the Force Band to feel more than a silly novelty it needs to be very responsive. Early impressions of the wearable indicate it’s not quite there yet, though it’s important to point out that its release is still a number of months away.
Related reading: Say hello to this holiday’s hottest toy, Sphero’s Star Wars BB-8 Droid
[via]Gizmodo[/via]
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
