Sphero has announced its first wearable technology, the Force Band. Expanding outside of the app-enabled robotic experiences, Sphero’s Force Band attaches to the wrist and utilizes gesture based controls to operate the iconic BB-8 robot produced by the same company.
The new Force Band controls BB-8 through gestures like Force push, pull and drive. The Force Band will enable BB-8 to follow its user as a result of arm motions and directional moves.
The Force Band is compatible with the existing BB-8 by Sphero. Additionally, Sphero revealed a special edition battle-worn BB-8 App-Enabled Droid. Featuring movie-replica decoration, the battle-worn Droid draws inspiration directly from BB-8, the breakout spherical star from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“Branching out of app-enabled robotics and into new categories that enhance play patterns and user experience has always been our goal,” said Paul Berberian, CEO. “We continue to broaden the realm of what's possible when it comes to robotics and through that, we are able to deepen the connection between user and Droid. The introduction of our first gesture based wearable is a major milestone for Sphero.”
In addition to controlling the BB-8 with gestures users have additional gamification features that add virtual experiences to the real world. Users will be able to train on how to handle the Force and collect virtual items and store these in "Holocron Vaults", just like the Star Wars movies.
The Force Band and special edition Droid will be available 30th September at retailers globally. Australian retailers include JB Hi-Fi, Myer, Apple Store and Harvey Norman.
