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.

It appears the Force is strong with fans of video games. Following backlash over the use of microtransactions, Electronic Arts announced it will temporarily remove them from its action game Star Wars Battlefront II, which launched Friday on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In a statement, Oskar Gabrielson, general manager of Battlefront studio DICE, apologized after players raised concerns the game's virtual economy lead to a "pay to play" environment where dollars spent is valued more than player skill. "It's clear that many of you feel there are still challenges in the design. We've heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages. And we've heard that this is overshadowing an otherwise great game," said Gabrielson.

Janina Gavankar plays an Imperial special forces officer in a story mode set after the events of'Return of the Jedi' in the new video game'Star Wars: Battlefront II.' Electronic Arts Janina Gavankar plays Iden Versio, commander of the Empire's Inferno Squad unit in the video game'Star Wars: Battlefront II.' (Photo: EA) Even the evil Empire in Star Wars had its own heroes, and actress Janina Gavankar is giving life to a great one. In this week's episode of The Mothership, USA TODAY's geek culture podcast, Gavankar comes aboard to talk about her voiceover role as Iden Versio in the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II (out Nov. 14). Versio is commander of the Imperial special forces unit Inferno Squad and has to deal with the aftermath of the Rebels' stunning defeat of the Empire at the end of Return of the Jedi. And in our Nerd Alert segment, Brett and Brian discuss the departure of longtime Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis to rival DC Comics and ponder what icons Bendis should tackle in his new gig. Have thoughts about the podcast?

The breakout star of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be canceling the apocalypse in the sequel to the 2013 sci-fi action film "Pacific Rim." Boyega will have a lead role in the film playing the son of character Stacker Pentecost, played in the original film by Idris Elba. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, "Pacific Rim" centered on a battle between human-piloted giant robots and Godzilla-style giant monsters known as kaiju. While the film grossed just 102 million domestically, it pulled in a more impressive 411 million worldwide. Steven S. DeKnight, who created the Starz series "Spartacus," is set to make his feature directing debut with the "Pacific Rim," which will begin shooting at the end of this year, after Boyega wraps shooting on "Star Wars: Episode VIII." "I am very proud and happy to welcome John into a fantastic sandbox," Del Toro said in a statement. "The'Pacific Rim' universe will be reinforced with him as a leading man as it continues to be a multicultural, multi-layered world. 'The World saving the world' was our goal and I couldn't think of a better man for the job."