TI engineers use Lego to build Star Wars BB-8 staying robot

TI's engineer Mark Smiley is a big boy. Although he is 34 years old, he is still a big fan of Star Wars, and he is also fascinated by Lego toys. Mark's desk is full of his space shuttle model built in Lego, and the home is more like a toy kingdom filled with Lego.

After the release of the latest "Star Wars", the cute robot BB-8 captured Mark's "heart", so he had a whimsy and built a small BB-8 robot with Lego. This robot can roll around like a ball, but its head is always suspended above the body during the scrolling process.

For the average child, a machine with a head that can be suspended on a rolling body is simply unbelievable. It turns out that Mark's secret is to use built-in magnets to keep the entire head in balance.

"The core of this robot is its spherical body and magnets," Mark said. "However, it is not so easy to use Lego completely."

In addition, in addition to the body of the robot, even the magnets come from the old Lego toys.

Super red cute robot

After inadvertently seeing the spherical LEGO components in the game room at home, Mark decided to build a BB-8 robot himself.

“I really want to have a small BB-8 robot. When I saw the spherical LEGO at home, I immediately found inspiration,” he said.

Mark can't wait to finish the work, and use his own robot to participate in the LEGO Creative Competition. He immediately told the idea of ​​his painter James. "When I showed the unprocessed prototype design in front of him, his eyes lit up," Mark said. "James praised it. He thought I was winning." So James used the brush to make the ball. Dressed up as a BB-8 robot in the movie.

After adding a few new LEGO components and working hard for a few months, Mark's work was shortlisted for the LEGO Creative Competition. In less than a month, more than 10,000 people voted for his robot, and more than 114,000 people watched his robot video.

In February of this year, the Popular Science magazine published a close-up article on the project. Subsequently, Lego began to select Mark's BB-8 robots and other LEGO fans' design projects, and is considering bringing them to market, and the final results will be announced in the second half of this year.

“If you get the favor of LEGO, this robot will turn from an amateur little creation to a hot item, which is just too exciting!”

Mark also said that he was encouraged by the publication of his own ideas in the New Age of Science, which was also featured in leading magazines such as Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo and Tech Crunch.

Mark's colleague Robert said that he was deeply impressed by Mark's creative thinking.

“He is the most creative geek I have ever seen in a company,” Robert said. “As a manufacturing engineer who loves jazz, no matter how crazy the ideas are, I am very respectful. And to appreciate those who are willing to act, they are always full of enthusiasm and confidence in this. This is how I feel when I work with Mark, just like my favorite jazz."

All-rounder

Mark doesn't care about winning or losing in the game. He feels that he is happy and is involved.

“We live very casually,” Mark said of him and his wife Katrina. “We like a relaxed and enjoyable life.”

They all like to travel abroad and watch movies (they have watched the latest Star Wars three times). Now, their daughter Effie is already 1 year old, so they put more attention on parent-child activities. For example, together with other dads in the neighbourhood neighborhood, they built a scaled-down golf course for their children in a nearby park.

I have to say that Mark is really a wide-ranging all-in-one. He once built a large trebuchet with his friends, knows a little about the woodworking field, and he is also a member of the "The Quattos" band, who loves guitar and music. In addition, he also helps the fab he works to produce safely. video.

Although he has a lot of hobbies, he still intends to continue to study Lego toys in his spare time, hoping to create some new works.

“The reason why I have endless fun in it is that it is a process of solving puzzles and solving difficulties.” He said, “It’s really fascinating to make your own things by yourself.”

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