GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue 005

HOW R2-D2
AND C-3PO
INSPIRED
THOUSANDS
TO JOIN
ROBOTICS
If there are fictional characters
that have played crucial roles in
robotics, it will be the famous
sidekicks in the Star Wars trilogy.
R2-D2 and C-3PO have charmed
their way around the audience
and made a huge impact as well
in the robotics field. As soon as
they bicker in front of the screen,
they have caught our attention
and definitely inspired a lot of
robotics enthusiasts to create
their own robots.
R2-D2 has inspired the public
to create their own assistants
that could help them around the
house. The droid also helped in
inspiring younger generations
spark their curiosity in science in
engineering. Through its beeps
and bops, little children have
curiously tried learning how the
robot works and how to make
one.
R2-D2 got inducted into the
Robot Hall of Fame back in 2003
while made it in the list of 101
Objects that Made America - a list
made by Smithsonian Institution.
The droid has definitely made an
impact not just in pop culture
but in robotics as well. It was
also believed that this funny little
robot was George Lucas’ favorite
character in the series. According
to him, he makes it intentional
that R2-D2 manages to save the
day every now and then in each
movie.
As for the humanoid robot
character, C-3PO, we can see a
lot of robots nowadays that has
clearly taken inspiration from this
funny easily frightened robot.
Re-created by Anakin Skywalker
in the Episode I, C-3PO has also
made an impact in the robotics
field. One example on projects
that was inspired by the protocol
droid was the robot built by the
United States Navy. It’s called
the Autonomous Shipboard
Humanoid and its purpose was
to extinguish fires, climb ladders
and carry hoses.
For both robots, we can see a
lot of high-level toys created to
develop the learning skills of
children. Clearly, a lot of kids
have sparked an interest in
building robots as soon as they
were introduced to these two
funny droids. With the release
of Episode VII last December, the
public was also given a new robot
to love - BB-8.
Star Wars has a strong fan base
and while not everyone got into
robotics because of it, we still
can’t admit how this series has
helped out the robotics field in
terms of increasing people who
join the field and inspired designs
and prototypes that shaped the
way we see the world now.
Photo by Hello Giggles
Photo by Ubergizmo
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics
65