Rejoice, for the first fully functional, 1:1 scale R2-D2 is at last a reality. And it’s amazing. As amazing as this video of Darth Lily—the cutest girl in the galaxy—hugging him.
L3-G0, as it is called, started as a CAD project in August 2013, when Shawn and Lara Steele decided that it was time for the world to have a fully functioning astromech—minus the hyperspace jump calculations and other little things—in Lego form. 16,000 bricks and almost one year later, they finished it with the help of Nikita Steele, Laurel Lee Steele and Hosik Lee. It was first seen wandering the Emerald City Comicon 2014 last week.
Check out the stats:
Lego: 16,000 bricks (approx.)
Weight: 65 pounds – 30 kg
Speed: 8 km/h – 5 mph
Height: 107cm tall – 42″
Power: 12VDC @ 18Ah
Radios: 9 channel airplane and 12 channel trigger type
Computers: Currently 2 Arduinos with dedicated motor, sound and RC receiver controllers, programmed by Microsoft Surface Pro.
The droid is not 100% Lego. It uses a frame to support the Lego structure and provide with motion using an electric motor controlled by two Arduinos, which are controlled by a Microsoft Surface Pro. Check out this video of its frame in action.
A time-lapse of the last stretch of the building process:
Here are some photos of the building process and some of its parts:
The unfold head structure:
The project was not an easy one. During tests, this is what happened when the head accidentally spun too fast:
