 If you've seen the Force Awakens trailer, there's probably one thing you've wanted more than anything else. Two things, I mean, there's two things. This is BB-8, the adorable Pixar-esque droid that's usurped R2-D2 as a robotic hero for the new film. Sphero, a startup company that's perhaps best known among tech circles, has managed to make a miniature version that can run around your house, no strings attached. The collaboration began last summer when Sphero joined the Disney Accelerator program and met with none other than Disney CEO Bob Iger himself. And so the story goes when essentially they pulled out Sphero and showed Bob and let him play around with it. He said, you know, I want to show you something. I'm working on this thing that might be interesting for us to have a conversation about. And funny enough, it kind of operates like this. And by the way, do you think you could make it actually work considering you're so good with this ball? And it was about one day before Adam and Ian, who are the co-founders of the company, came back and had kind of a concept of how to bring it to life. Since the very beginning, the Star Wars universe has been as much about merchandising as it has been the films that inspire it. In the 70s and 80s, that meant Kenner action figures, with over 300 million sold during that time. Today, Star Wars licensed toys, games, costumes, towels, virtually anything you can imagine are all produced by dozens of companies. And this year is an exceptionally busy time. The Force Awakens hits theaters December 18th and an army of movie tie-ins awakens today, September 4th, an event that's being advertised as Force Friday. Sphero is offering something a bit more premium than most companies. The first time you place BB-8 in his charging cradle, the droid comes to life. Its lights flicker, its head twists and turns. I honestly could swear it was looking at me at one point. To be clear, the head is really just plastic held on by magnets. It's a bit jarring at first, but it's also perhaps the best introduction to what Sphero really wants his droid to be. You know, when we designed the product, we did a lot of it in animation first. And so we actually wrote some software that would allow us to, you know, create certain emotional moments that BB-8 would have. Like, what happens when BB-8 gets scared? What does he do when he's surprised? What about when he's mad? And we basically rendered those all out in software. You'd have him go, ahhh, you know, beep beep beep, spin around. And then we had a mechanism to push that to the robot. BB-8 can be controlled by our smartphone for driving and other puppetry, but it also can be put in an automated patrol mode. Left to its own devices, BB-8 seems rather curious, albeit a bit pissed whenever it hits a wall. And that's just my take at least. Also, I wouldn't recommend letting him on tables or other elevated surfaces, but if you do, it's worth noting that the thing's been pretty durable so far. Sphero makes a lot of bold claims on the packaging, chief among them holographic communication, which, to probably guess, is just a nifty AR trick. But for all the added bells and whistles, the BB-8's primary directive is really just to be a ball of cuteness, to make you feel something and ascribe emotion to an algorithmically driven device. And it speaks to Sphero's future goals. We think that this is probably the first step for Sphero. We think that ultimately there will be a robot in every house, that everyone will own a computer and a companion. That isn't where we're at today. Sphero's BB-8 isn't the kind of droid that I'd have a beer with, nor is it the kind that could fetch a beer for me. That isn't its point anyway. But there's something earnestly exciting about seeing it go off on its own. I can't say how long that novelty will last, but I could easily see myself just turning on autopilot and enjoying the occasional moment where I catch it doing something weird. You know, kind of like a cat in that respect. Or maybe a Roomba. At $150, this is definitely among the pricier tie-ins for the film, and Sphero is wisely marketing it as a premium product. It even manages to carry coveted spot on the Apple Store shelves, among other places. And yes, it'll work with Android too. And this is just the first volley in what's assuredly many years of Star Wars merchandise. The Force Awakens is just the first of several films coming out over the next five years, not to mention spin-off properties, TV shows, comic books, games, you get the idea. And who knows, by the time the Star Wars ride is over, we might all actually have robot companions. I may need a beer for us. At least wait in line at the concession stand.
 If you've seen the Force Awakens trailer, there's probably one thing you've wanted
 more than anything else.
 Two things, I mean, there's two things.
 This is BB-8, the adorable Pixar-esque droid that's usurped R2-D2 as a robotic hero for
 the new film.
 Sphero, a startup company that's perhaps best known among tech circles, has managed to make
 a miniature version that can run around your house, no strings attached.
 The collaboration began last summer when Sphero joined the Disney Accelerator program and
 met with none other than Disney CEO Bob Iger himself.
 And so the story goes when essentially they pulled out Sphero and showed Bob and let him
 play around with it.
 He said, you know, I want to show you something.
 I'm working on this thing that might be interesting for us to have a conversation about.
 And funny enough, it kind of operates like this.
 And by the way, do you think you could make it actually work considering you're so good
 with this ball?
 And it was about one day before Adam and Ian, who are the co-founders of the company, came
 back and had kind of a concept of how to bring it to life.
 Since the very beginning, the Star Wars universe has been as much about merchandising as it
 has been the films that inspire it.
 In the 70s and 80s, that meant Kenner action figures, with over 300 million sold during
 that time.
 Today, Star Wars licensed toys, games, costumes, towels, virtually anything you can imagine
 are all produced by dozens of companies.
 And this year is an exceptionally busy time.
 The Force Awakens hits theaters December 18th and an army of movie tie-ins awakens today,
 September 4th, an event that's being advertised as Force Friday.
 Sphero is offering something a bit more premium than most companies.
 The first time you place BB-8 in his charging cradle, the droid comes to life.
 Its lights flicker, its head twists and turns.
 I honestly could swear it was looking at me at one point.
 To be clear, the head is really just plastic held on by magnets.
 It's a bit jarring at first, but it's also perhaps the best introduction to what Sphero
 really wants his droid to be.
 You know, when we designed the product, we did a lot of it in animation first.
 And so we actually wrote some software that would allow us to, you know, create certain
 emotional moments that BB-8 would have.
 Like, what happens when BB-8 gets scared?
 What does he do when he's surprised?
 What about when he's mad?
 And we basically rendered those all out in software.
 You'd have him go, ahhh, you know, beep beep beep, spin around.
 And then we had a mechanism to push that to the robot.
 BB-8 can be controlled by our smartphone for driving and other puppetry, but it also can
 be put in an automated patrol mode.
 Left to its own devices, BB-8 seems rather curious, albeit a bit pissed whenever it hits
 a wall.
 And that's just my take at least.
 Also, I wouldn't recommend letting him on tables or other elevated surfaces, but if
 you do, it's worth noting that the thing's been pretty durable so far.
 Sphero makes a lot of bold claims on the packaging, chief among them holographic communication,
 which, to probably guess, is just a nifty AR trick.
 But for all the added bells and whistles, the BB-8's primary directive is really just
 to be a ball of cuteness, to make you feel something and ascribe emotion to an algorithmically
 driven device.
 And it speaks to Sphero's future goals.
 We think that this is probably the first step for Sphero.
 We think that ultimately there will be a robot in every house, that everyone will own a computer
 and a companion.
 That isn't where we're at today.
 Sphero's BB-8 isn't the kind of droid that I'd have a beer with, nor is it the kind
 that could fetch a beer for me.
 That isn't its point anyway.
 But there's something earnestly exciting about seeing it go off on its own.
 I can't say how long that novelty will last, but I could easily see myself just turning
 on autopilot and enjoying the occasional moment where I catch it doing something weird.
 You know, kind of like a cat in that respect.
 Or maybe a Roomba.
 At $150, this is definitely among the pricier tie-ins for the film, and Sphero is wisely
 marketing it as a premium product.
 It even manages to carry coveted spot on the Apple Store shelves, among other places.
 And yes, it'll work with Android too.
 And this is just the first volley in what's assuredly many years of Star Wars merchandise.
 The Force Awakens is just the first of several films coming out over the next five years,
 not to mention spin-off properties, TV shows, comic books, games, you get the idea.
 And who knows, by the time the Star Wars ride is over, we might all actually have robot
 companions.
 I may need a beer for us.
 At least wait in line at the concession stand.