Remember that cute BB-8 droid which was released by Star Wars during the release of The Force Awakens? If that adorable little robot wasn’t awesome enough, Sphero has released a special band for controlling the droid.
The Force Band will out do any of those fitness bands in the market when it comes to awesomeness. It can make the BB-8 do a lot of tricks by applying certain gestures with the hand. The band itself looks cool and Star Wars era-like.
The Force Band can be used to push, pull, and control BB-8, and even other Sphero robots powered by Bluetooth. (credit: Sphero)
Using it is quite fun. The user can push or pull the droid to different directions with just a wave of their hand. There’s also a special training mode that is optimized with the official BB-8 Droid app for the user to partake in and perform lightsabre training. The app has lent itself for quite a bit of integration with the band, allowing the band to detect and notify the user of any hidden supplies nearby, much like in Pokemon Go.
The app can be connected to the band via Bluetooth. The 300MB app also has a mini-game with it that will be appreciated by most. A set including both the droid and the band will cost $250, while the band alone costs $100.
- Bluetooth Smart technology
- 60 minute battery life for constant use
- USB charging
- RGB LED lights
- Magnetic + velcro adjustment strap
- Haptic feedback
- Onboard audio + Speaker
- Gesture detection using gyroscope and accelerometer sensors
- iOS and Android compatible
Spending $100 for a band that connects through Bluetooth and somewhat vibrates isn’t exactly justified. The band is aimed at the younger audience but it would be better if the makers added some special fitness gauging to monitor the pulse, an LED screen for the droid’s battery or perhaps just to show the time. It does look pretty cool and works really well too. But unless the user is a die-hard fan of the franchise, it would make little sense to make the purchase.
Of course, the feeling of using the force to control something like the BB-8 does have a novelty to it. Learning to wield a lightsabre or training for combat blasters, even though we’ll look pretty silly holding up imaginary blasters and lightsabres, we’ll still get a kick out of it. If users have already got the BB-8 droid, then the band probably will be a good addition. After all, who doesn’t want to be a Jedi?
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