They keep saying it's a puppet. Are we just calling robots puppets now? That sounds nice.

Like many people, I calmly assumed that BB-8, the droid from the new Star Wars trailers that resembles a tiny head floating on top of a moving soccer ball, was computer-generated. Had I kept up with Star Wars news, maybe I'd have heard sooner that I was wrong. In any case, I wouldn't have really believed it until I saw this footage from the recently concluded Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, CA. Or until I heard they're selling a toy version for $150.

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They keep describing BB-8 as having been designed and operated by puppeteer Neal Scanlan (whose impressive puppeteering work dates back to Labyrinth), but I watch a lot of scary robot videos in my spare time, and let me tell you: that's a robot. Not just a robot, but one of those robots that makes me feel like we've taken one more step towards our extinction. Like these beautiful butterfly-bots.

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At least when the robots write their history, it will now involve Star Wars.