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Here's the original blueprint for R2-D2 in 1977's 'Star Wars'

r2 d2 tony
Tony Dyson

The "Star Wars" community is remembering R2-D2 creator Tony Dyso, after the professor and robotics technician was found dead in his Malta home at age 68 on Friday.

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Dyson created and built the R2-D2 bot that fans know and love for the original "Star Wars" trilogy over the course of five months.

In 2013, Dyson shared an image of the original blueprint design for R2 with fans on Twitter.

It's a great thing for any fan of the franchise to see.

r2 d2 design
@TheRobotMaster/Twitter


Here's a larger look at the image right side up:

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Dyson ended up building eight versions of R2-D2 for the series.

"Some were remote-controlled, some computerized — they all had different functions," he told GeekWire back in April 2015. "It was more based on special effects and not robotics specific. We’d get whatever was on the director’s list and achieve those qualifications, and that led to R2-D2."

His original plan was to make Artoo a real-working robot, similar to the functional BB-8 seen in "The Force Awakens." Unfortunately, time and money constraints prevented that from happening.

"If I’d had [a] longer and a bigger budget, R2 could have been robotized. But we didn’t have that, and R2 couldn’t do all the things George Lucas wanted him to do," he explained.

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In December, Dyson said he was also a fan of Disney and Sphero's new droid design for BB-8.

bb8 r2d2
BB-8 and R2-D2 together.
YouTube/Tested

"I think the people that made it should be saluted," Tyson told Campaign Asia. "I think it's a cute little robot."

But there's still only one robot for him.

"Of course, it's not as cute as R2-D2," he added. "But I think it will catch on. It fits into the modern ideas of sleek and cool and fast. I love it."

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