Speeder Bikes, BB-8s and a 5-axis Darth Vader.
We might still be more than six months from the release of Rogue One and 18 months from Episode VIII, but you can still celebrate May the Fourth, a.k.a. Star Wars Day, with these four Star-Wars-inspired engineering stories.
1) Helicopter and Motorcycle Hybrid Could be Used by U.S. Army
The Internet was recently set abuzz by a homemade hoverbike created by inventor and YouTube personality Colin Furze, but it might surprise you to learn that a company called Hoverbike conducted successful flight tests on a similarly Endor-inspired design almost a year ago.
(Image courtesy of Hoverbike.)
2) How Does Star Wars’ BB-8 Work?
BB-8, the now-iconic droid from the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, captured viewers’ hearts and raised a host of engineering questions. ENGINEERING.com managed to get our hands on the home version of BB-8 thanks to the toy’s creator, Sphero, and took the opportunity to breakdown the engineering behind the droid.
3) Who Knew Replicating a Functional BB-8 Would Be So Hard?
If the Sphero version of BB-8 is too small for your taste, then perhaps this is the droid you’re looking for. This full-sized version of BB-8 was created with the judicious use of 3D printing by firefighter Ed Zarick. What’s more, Zarick shared all of the details for constructing his remote-controlled BB-8 online.
4) Creating Darth Vader on a 5-Axis Vertical Machining Center
This is by far one of the most impressive 5-axis machining projects I’ve seen, not just because it’s the Dark Lord of the Sith but from a technical standpoint as well. Engineers at Morris Midwest created this bust of Darth Vader’s head as part of Morris Madness 2016.
Check out these and other Star-Wars-inspired stories from ENGINEERING.com, and May the Fourth be with you!
