On this week's episode of Science and Star Wars...
Woah!
Boba Fett
Hi and welcome to Science and Star Wars
where we explore how close real-world science has come to our favorite Star Wars technology.
I'm Anthony Carboni
and over on the wall is my co-host.
Hello, my name is Watson.
He likes it there.
This week we're talking about the technology behind one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe.
That's right...
The universe's most famous bounty hunter.
Using modified versions of his clone father Jango's armor
Boba Fett is packed with technology.
He has an armored chest plate,
a back mounted jetpack,
wrist gauntlets housing a fiber cord whip,
a mounted blaster,
and a mini flamethrower.
And his helmet includes a targeting rangefinder,
macro binocular view plate,
and internal comlink.
Boba Fett is cool.
Each of us believes that if we only had the right tech we could be Boba Fett.
So let's run through it.
Personal body armor is definitely a thing you can buy.
It's a little expensive but so is catching Han Solo.
He's no good to me dead.
You could even buy a personal flamethrower and...
Well, I'm not sure what you would use a personal flamethrower for.
But we do hit a bit of a snag when it comes to jetpacks.
Yes, they're real but they aren't totally effective.
Aaaahhhh!
But if there's one thing we all think about when it comes to Boba Fett it is that sweet, sweet helmet.
We don't ever get to see what Boba sees but I think we can assume he has some pretty high-end stuff in them.
Probably something along the lines of what IBM is working on at their hyper imaging labs.
If Boba Fett had radar imaging in his helmet he would be able to see through conditions of limited disability
such as as smoke, rain, or fog.
He would be able to see through common materials such as paper carton
and also he could be able to have a wider point of view than his opponents.
And while heads-up displays have become more common, they're not at Mandalorian levels yet.
But we're getting closer so you could one day be Boba Fett...
sort of.
But I have somebody here who is actually 100% Boba Fett.
It's Daniel Logan! Welcome, sir.
Thank you, Anthony. How are you doing?
Im good, man.
So we have talked about the tech.
What do you love so much about the character?
I have to say probably his armor but I feel like the fact that he can be so still.
Yeah he's got that quiet stillness, he's a little imposing.
Exactly!
But you can still feel who he is.
I don't have the tools here to test your strength of spirit Daniel Logan.
But I can test the effectiveness of some of our weaponry against tactical armor.
Now you probably recognize this.
[Laughing]
Obviously we can't get Mandalorian armor.
We did the best we could.
This is a 5.5 pound Kevlar vest
So Kevlar is polymer weave, right?
So it's a super-strong fabric that's woven together and then layers of that weave are put over each other.
And this thing is bulletproof.
It's also stab rated against knives.
So if you run at this thing at 14 miles an hour
we're talking like Olympic runner speeds
and thrusts at it.
it will stop that knife.
We frayed a couple layers but we've got to remember this under form is white.
Wo what we're seeing is black which means...
We did get to the second layer.
We did not do it.
Let's try something a little more Star Wars-y.
Alright, fire laser
Wow!
Boba is smokin'!
Started like instantly.
We really only got through canvas and paint.
Just the paint, yeah.
I don't even think we got through the canvas.
Oh my god, that's adorable.
It's a little baby blaster burn.
I can't even deal with this
Daniel, it's desperate times.
We're just gonna have to use Boba Fett's tactics against Boba Fett.
So we had our friend Alan Pen put this together for us.
Woah!
Yeah!
[Laughing]
That was awesome!
I don't think it did anything.
Absolutely nothing.
Nothing at all!
Maybe a couple of little singes but nothing.
He is the baddest bounty hunter in the galaxy after all.
Oh no!
We are not going out like that!
R3, attack!
[R3-A3 sounds]
Yeah!
Yes!
Do it!
Use your aggressive feelings, boy!
Let the hate flow through you!
[Loud crash]
Okay, back up.
Well, Daniel Logan, thank you so much for trying.
Thank you so much for having me.
Remember we have a lot more videos over on IBM.com/StarWars