"[4] His design included asymmetrical panels to make it easier for the viewer to track motion, because, Scanlan says, "If you had parallel patterns that ran around the circumference, they would be less informative as to the direction BB-8 was traveling".

[3] In August 2013, The Force Awakens cinematographer Daniel Mindel and Episode VIII director Rian Johnson each stated that 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.

[6][7][8] To that end, the droid BB-8 was a physical prop developed by Disney Research,[9] created by Neal Scanlan and operated live on set with the actors.

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.

"[4] Calling the robot a "Swiss Army Knife that shouldn't be trusted", he noted that while each of the BB-8's panels has a specific purpose, like a port or tool, not all of them have been absolutely defined to leave options for future films.

[18] Poe entrusts it with a map that must be delivered to the Resistance headquarters in order to determine the whereabouts of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker.

While Poe is captured and interrogated by the sinister First Order warlord Kylo Ren, BB-8 flees across the desert of the planet Jakku and finds sanctuary with the plucky scavenger Rey.

Eventually Rey, the renegade stormtrooper Finn, Han Solo, and Chewbacca bring BB-8 to Resistance leader Leia Organa, and ultimately reunite him with Poe.

BB-8 appeared in The Rise of Skywalker where, in mission with Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewie and C-3PO on Pasaana eventually befriended a droid named D-O.

After celebrating the victory of the Resistance on Ajan Kloss, BB-8 followed Rey on Tatooine where she buried Luke and Leia's lightsabers in the Lars homestead and, in the end, the droid watched the binary sunrise along with her.

[22] The official September 4, 2015 launch of all merchandise for The Force Awakens[23][24][25] included an 11.4-centimeter-tall (4.5-inch) mobile app-enabled BB-8 robot toy developed by Sphero.

"[28] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times noted that "the hype for The Force Awakens has been so insane and the marketing so intense, we knew about BB-8 as a pricey and cool toy well before BB-8 ever made his big-screen debut.

Rey and Finn and Poe's little pal is a hint of the continuing universe that will unfold with The Force Awakens, and a promise to fans that the filmmakers of the new films have a deep understanding of what makes Star Wars fun and mythic.

[51] The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy explained that the droid "serves as a welcome robot reboot from the sidelined (but hardly vanquished) R2-D2",[52] and Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com described BB-8 as "the perfect hybrid of R2-D2 and WALL-E".

[54] Ann Hornaday wrote in The Washington Post that "BB-8, a roly-poly little Wall-E of a creature, rolls, beeps and blinks with such puppy-ish charisma that R2-D2 and C-3PO might want to call their agents to make sure they're in the next installment.

[55] Stephanie Zacharek of Time also praised BB-8: Abrams and his team of designers and technicians introduce a new star ... A roly-poly cueball with a surprisingly expressive half-dome for a head—and a vocabulary of squeaks and squiggles that are more eloquent than mere words—BB-8 is both modernist and old-fashioned at once, a marvelous creation that could have sprung from the imagination of Jules Verne.

"[60] The Force Awakens received seven Visual Effects Society Award nominations, including one for Outstanding Models in a Photoreal or Animated Project for BB-8.