Harrison Ford is our celebrity of the month (see our feature on the legendary actor here)! Among his countless leading roles, arguably his most iconic is that of devil-may-care Han Solo. We’re paying homage to the irascible yet charismatic pilot of the Millennium Falcon by highlighting some amazing Star Wars gadgets that you can actually buy in real life!
Lightsaber duels and 3D chess from Lenovo
Despite being among the most popular Star Wars gadgets, in real life lightsabers are actually physical impossibilities. But that hasn’t stopped Lenovo from taking an alternative approach at creating an authentic duelling experience. With its new Jedi Challenges experience merges smartphone power with augmented reality technology to allow players to match lightsabers with Kylo Ren, dabble in 3D chess, and even orchestrate massive droid battles. The US$199.99 set comes with an AR headset, lightsaber controller and tracking beacon.
BB-8 and BB-9E robots
To celebrate the reboot of the Star Wars franchise, robotics company Sphero teamed up with Disney to release an adorably miniaturised robotic version of BB-8 (US$99.99). Two years later, its First Empire nemesis BB-9E (US$129.99) was released. Paired with a dedicated mobile app, these droids can ‘patrol’ your living room, throw holographic projections to your phone and even interact with other droids.
Hoverbikes from Hoversurf
Do you recall the thrilling high-speed speeder bike chase scene through the forests of Ewok home planet Endor? Clearly Hoversurf does. In fact, the Russian drone manufacturer’s latest Scorpion 3 hoverbike could be a carbon copy of the film vehicle. It can achieve speeds of up to 70kmph and altitudes of over 28m. It doesn’t come cheap though. There’s a hefty US$59,900 price tag, and potential buyers also have to cough up US$2,000 to confirm a reservation.
Honourable mention: Limited-edition LEGO Millennium Falcon
Although technically not a gadget per se, we just had to include this limited-edition Millennium Falcon Lego set in our list of Star Wars gadgets anyway. The mammoth 7,541-piece set, which is priced at US$800, includes mini figurines of fan favourites Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and C3PO, as well as new faces like Rey, Finn and BB-8. While this Millennium Falcon definitely won’t be doing the Kessel run in 12 parsecs, it promises hours of fun (and no small amount of frustration) for the whole family.
Text: Tenzing Thondup
Videos & Images: Lenovo, Sphero, Hoversurf, Lego, Disney