Engineering on Friday ‘toon: Star Wars Day(s)

You know you got them. A box full of lanyards somewhere. We love them. They’re simple, practical, and you can carry anything with you at all times. I got a lanyard for every occasion.

I thought, if I were a Jedi, how would I carry the lightsaber? Lanyard, of course.

May 4^th is Star Wars Day. Get it? May the 4th be with you? And that new edition to the day, May 5^th, aka Revenge of the 5^th. Wouldn’t the 6^th work there, too? Time to expand the celebration? Call it “Star Wars Days,” May 4^th to the 6^th. I don’t think fans need convincing on this one.

I believe that Star Wars as a whole has been the most influential science fiction work in history. You remember being younger, and maybe you had the Force? Waving flashlights around in the fog, adding your own sound effects? When you were older, remember thinking, “How can I make this-or-that real?” 

Of the many Star Wars ideas-to-real-world-devices I’ve had, it was a simple luggage-carrying droid in the background of Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith that really sparked a fire in me.

So, back in 2005, I wanted to make a robot that would follow me around and could carry at least 700 pounds. At the time, I had a 700-pound CNC mill, among other heavy equipment. I got about as far as a robot that could track a tennis ball. But life has a way of distracting us from those hard projects. I put it in a box, somewhere. 

Then, 20 years later, I see massive weight-carrying robotic platforms on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) floor. Oops, I missed that one big-time. It’s one of those “I had that idea blah-blah years ago” cliché moments. Don’t we all have too many of those?

I checked my videos on YouTube, and I found the following. It was in addition to the article I wrote at the time about Episode VII – The Force Awakens. It was a teardown of the new (at the time) BB-8 toys for Machine Design. 

In the video, I show how I cut the Sphero BB-8 apart on one of my lathes. In this video, you won’t see it, but my 700-pound mill is right behind me. 🙂