The BB-8 toy is operated by remote control, but it also has some independent features, and shares its manner of movement and other features with the film's BB-8. In 2010, NASA developed robots inspired by the hovering remote-controlled droids, seen in the "Star Wars" films and other media, and used by the Jedi for lightsaber combat training. These robots were used in NASA space stations for experimentation. Also in 2010, a hacker developed similar robots, but only capable of floating beyond a limited magnetic range. Military robots in the "Star Wars" universe are built on the same principles as modern military robotics. While most military robots in the modern world are designed in various shapes, depending on their purpose, the military robots of the "Star Wars" universe are primarily humanoid, and built to imitate live, organic soldiers, mainly human ones. A major similarity between modern military robotics and those of the "Star Wars" universe is that different robots are built and designed for different specific purposes, whether those purposes are ground warfare, maritime warfare, aerial warfare, or space warfare, as seen in the "Star Wars" prequel films. Such uses are considered unpractical and unfeasible by current means, given the sophistication and resources each individual unit would require. Another significant, recognizable distinction of the robots in the "Star Wars" universe, whether military or civilian, is their strong sense of independence and self-awareness, compared to current robots. This is mainly due to "Star Wars" robots having much more advanced sensors and self-computing systems than current robots do. Despite the limited abilities of current robots, Dr. Jonathan Roberts, director of CSTRO Autonomous Systems Laboratory, proclaims that the role of robots in assisting humans is going to increase, similarly to what is seen in "Star Wars". The Christian Science Monitor reported in 2011 that an American blogger, out of patriotism, tried to raise money to build a robotic AT-AT for the US military. Heikko Hoffman, a robotics expert from HRL Laboratories, who was not associated with the project, claims that AT-ATs are possible, though some of their designs should be changed from those seen in the "Star Wars" universe, for safety, and for financial and operational costs. The project, though not terminated, was suspended, due to copyright concerns from Lucasfilm. In 2012, the United States Navy built a robot modeled after C-3PO, but appears to function for both military and civilian purposes. The use of laser technology in "Star Wars" is almost entirely in the form of weapons, though there are some side-story books written that mention the use of laser cannon vehicles for the purpose of burning/melting through ice and snow such as the fifth book in the "Jedi Prince" series, "Queen of the Empire" (though technically not part of the "Star Wars" canon).