In 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' the spherical droid that carries the map is BB-8. The Resistance astromech belongs to pilot Poe Dameron and carries a partial map showing the location of the missing Jedi, Luke Skywalker.
After Poe is captured on Jakku, he tells BB-8 to escape with the map. The droid later meets Rey, a scavenger who helps protect him from First Order forces. Their journey draws Finn into the search and eventually connects BB-8's data with R2-D2's stored fragment aboard the Resistance base.
BB-8's design gives him a rolling spherical body topped by a rotating dome. The unusual form lets him move quickly across desert terrain while expressing personality through beeps, whistles, head movements, and small mechanical tools. The character became one of the film's most recognizable new additions.
BB-8 is sometimes confused with R2-D2 because both are Resistance astromech droids, but they are different characters from different generations of the saga. C-3PO is a humanoid protocol droid, while L3-37 belongs to the story of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story.'