C-3PO and R2-D2 are an odd couple in the Star Wars universe. C-3PO is a cowardly droid who obeys pre-defined protocols and routine tasks, while R2-D2 is a curious and adventurous robot who learns from previous problems, uses logical thinking and larger concepts to solve new problems. But together they do things they could not do alone. Similarly, RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and Advanced Analytics are an odd but very complementary combination of new business technologies. Like the diligent but unimaginative C-3PO, RPA follows precise rules to execute repetitive business processes; and like the curious and adaptable R2-D2, Advanced Analytics learns to make complex judgments when faced with new situations.

NASA's Valkyrie robot holds a little "Star Wars" BB-8. The "Star Wars" robots R2-D2 and BB-8 are the droids that NASA is looking for -- "astromechs" that can help repair spaceships on the fly, a NASA robotics engineer says. Future NASA robots might resemble humanoid droids such as C-3PO and K-2SO from the waist up, but have giant mechanical spidery legs from the waist down, the engineer added in a new piece for the journal Science Robotics. For more than 20 years, NASA has sought to develop robot assistants for astronauts. So far, they have developed three droids.

Astronauts need a lot of help from robots. Whether it's the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) or future recruits on missions exploring the depths of the Solar System, robots help us to complete tasks beyond our human capabilities. But what type of robots are best suited for these cosmic jobs? One NASA engineer thinks that we should turn to Star Wars for inspiration. In the popular saga, Astromechs are repair droids that act as autonomous mechanics aboard ships. They are also capable of fighting, piloting spacecraft, and just about everything else.

The new monthly column by Texas A&M University roboticist Robin Murphy took as its first subject the beloved droids R2-D2 and BB-8, rolling robots that play a major role in "Star Wars." Murphy asked Dan Goldman, a physicist at Georgia Tech, whether a spherical robot like BB-8 would be able to move around over rough terrain like sand -- and "he just started giggling hysterically," Murphy told Space.com. Goldman described buying one of Sphero's remote-control BB-8 toys as soon as the movie came out, to set up in his lab and test robot locomotion over a variety of granular materials. "They run sand[fish] lizards through there, they run snakes, salamanders, the whole thing," Murphy said, referring to types of moving robots. "And they put BB-8 in there, and they gave it a little ramp with plywood, and it rolled in, and then -- thwump! Just buried itself into the sand. And then they tried it again -- it was a repeatable experiment. The only variation would be that occasionally it would stop so suddenly the head would fly off, which is kind of fun." "There's a reason you don't see a lot of animals with wheels," Murphy said.

Star Wars droid characters BB8, R2D2 and C3P0 make an appearance at the Academy Awards. Ever since Star Wars first hit theaters in the '70s, many fans have wondered what it might be like to have your own personal R2-D2 by your side. A researcher at Texas A&M says while modern robots aren't exactly the droids we're looking for right now, there are signs robots use similar techniques as R2-D2 and BB-8, introduced during the latest Star Wars movie trilogy. "The word'droid' has become so ubiquitous in our collective consciousness that it is hard to believe that the word was created, and trade marked, by George Lucas," wrote Robin R. Murphy in the latest issue of Science Robotics. "But, it is believable that Star Wars robots can imitate or motivate real science." A feature of both droids applicable to today's robots is the use of nonverbal communication, Murphy writes.

Computer Science and Engineering Professor Robin Murphy of Texas A&M University has taken a serious look at the robots of Star Wars fame and judges how realistic they are in a recent Science Robotics Focus piece--in it, she suggests some aspects of the robots are more realistic than others. Murphy focuses on CP30, the gold, humanoid robot with a British accent, his partner, R2D2 and the cute robot BB-8. Notably, only one of the three is able to talk, and has appendages that resemble human arms and legs. She discusses the possibility of developing such robots and how well they might work. She also compares them to a real-life space robot--NASA's Robonaut, a humanoid robot with arms and end effectors, but no legs.

The iconic line from Star Wars, in which Luke Skywalker discovers the real identity of Darth Vader, marks the point in the series when two polar opposites that had been cleanly divided--the Jedi and the Dark Side--are suddenly mixed together in the most personal of ways. This ambiguity of opposition, which is part of what makes the series so compelling, is well known. There is another example of this opposition, though, that is easier to overlook: Star Wars both humanizes machines, so that we can like them, and dehumanizes them, so we can accept their slaughter. By the conclusion of the series, we feel a genuine warmth for the droid characters, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 and a concern for their safety. But why, when we know they are just machines? Part of the answer is that R2-D2, BB-8, and C-3PO certainly act as though they have a wide range of feelings.

The iconic line from Star Wars, in which Luke Skywalker discovers the real identity of Darth Vader, marks the point in the series when two polar opposites that had been cleanly divided--the Jedi and the Dark Side--are suddenly mixed together in the most personal of ways. This ambiguity of opposition, which is part of what makes the series so compelling, is well known. There is another example of this opposition, though, that is easier to overlook: Star Wars both humanizes machines, so that we can like them, and dehumanizes them, so we can accept their slaughter. By the conclusion of the series, we feel a genuine warmth for the droid characters, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 and a concern for their safety. But why, when we know they are just machines? Part of the answer is that R2-D2, BB-8, and C-3PO certainly act as though they have a wide range of feelings.

If you thought Sphero's original BB-8 app-enabled robot was a blast back in 2015, just wait'til you see their take on Star Wars' most beloved droid: R2-D2. MSRP; same price on Amazon and the Apple store) is here in advance of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which continues the sci-fi saga's main storyline, and it's just as immediately impressive as BB-8. It'll cruise around your home with ease using the iPhone/iPad companion app, the head rotates and reacts just like the real droid in the movie, and it even has movie-perfect sound effects and little animation routines. R2-D2 is not alone this time around, either, as the First Order BB-9E ($149.95 MSRP; same price on Amazon and the Apple store) droid from the new movie--essentially an evil version of BB-8, it seems--has joined the Sphero crew.

Smart toys maker Sphero has released two new "Star Wars" droid for Force Friday II. Sphero now sells an app-controlled version of the classic "Star Wars" R2-D2 droid, as well as an evil version of BB-8 called BB-9E. Like Sphero's original app-controlled BB-8 droid from 2015, the new R2-D2 and BB-9E droids feature very detailed representation of their movie counterparts. However, BB-9E hasn't actually appeared in any of the films yet, but it's expected to make an appearance in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." First up is the Sphero R2-D2 app-controlled droid which is a 1:24 scale robot of the life-size version, accoridng to Mashable.