Iger showed Wilson and Bernstein unreleased pictures of BB-8 on his phone, and encouraged them to build it. Disney Accelerator (which is powered by Techstars), the entertainment giant’s start-up incubator, happened to be a seed incubator for Sphero. “We knew we were missing something - we were missing character, something like personality, the way that Pixar can bring that lamp to life,” said Wilson.Ī window for that opened in July 2014 when Wilson and his company’s co-founder, Ian Bernstein, met with Disney CEO Bob Iger. But BB-8 provided Sphero the soul it was looking for in its robotics-powered toys. Sphero was already making “connected” or robotics toys that are app-driven when the Star Wars opportunity came along. Eastern time Monday-Friday on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM channel 111. The Knowledge at Wharton show airs 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Adam Wilson, co-founder and chief scientist at Sphero, recently appeared on the Knowledge at Wharton radio show to talk more about the toy. But that has all changed with the franchise’s latest droid, BB-8, who has been spotted in the trailers for the hotly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which premieres December 14 and opens in wide release on December 18.īoulder, Colo.-based firm Sphero has created app-enabled versions of BB-8, and taking one home is a simple as a trip to your local toy or big-box store. When the Star Wars franchise launched in the 1970s, fans could only dream of having a droid pal like R2-D2 and C-3PO. Don’t Disappear in the Hybrid Workplace April 19, 2022Īdam Wilson talks about BB-8, the new Star Wars droid.Motivator in Chief: Getting the Most from Your Team May 17, 2022.Succeeding with Hybrid Work: Focus on Five Cs June 22, 2022.Vigilant Leaders: Paying Attention to What Matters Most July 25, 2022.
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