Scanlan told Entertainment Weekly in November 2015 that the robot\'s design came from an original sketch by Abrams, saying "It was a very simple sketch, beautiful in its simplicity of a ball with this little dome on top." Of BB-8\'s design "with differently shaped panels on each side to help the viewer’s eye track movement", Scanlan said "If you had parallel patterns that ran around the circumference, they would be less informative as to the direction BB-8 was traveling than a slightly more chaotic pattern."\n', '

Abrams also named the robot, telling Entertainment Weekly in August 2015, "I named him BB-8 because it was almost onomatopoeia. It was sort of how he looked to me, with the 8, obviously, and then the two B\'s." The name was conceived early on in the film\'s production and was one of the few to remain unchanged.\n', '

In August 2013, The Force Awakens cinematographer Daniel Mindel and Episode VIII director Rian Johnson each stated that The Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams would use little computer-generated imagery (CGI) and more practical, traditional special effects in order to recreate the visual realism and authenticity of the original Star Wars film. To that end, the droid BB-8 was a physical prop developed by Disney Research, created by special effects artist Neal Scanlan and operated live on set with the actors. Seven BB-8 puppets were constructed for filming. The most prominent was a rod puppet, controlled by puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring. In addition, there were several radio controlled units and some static prop versions. A fully functioning, self-contained robotic unit was not practical for shooting, so most of the "walking" scenes were achieved by the puppet, with rods removed in post production. Later a self standing remote controlled unit was constructed and used at promotional events.\n', '

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