Disney's Cute Robots Powered by Nvidia and Google DeepMind

Nvidia is teaming up with Disney Research and Google DeepMind to create Newton, a new physics engine aimed at simulating how robots move in real-life scenarios. This exciting development was shared by Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, during his keynote at GTC 2025 on Tuesday.
Disney is set to be one of the first to harness Newton's power for its next wave of entertainment robots, including the Star Wars-inspired BDX droids. In fact, one of these droids even made a cute appearance on stage next to Huang during the keynote.
Nvidia has plans to roll out an early, open-source version of Newton sometime later in 2025.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang debuts Groot N1, a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robots, in Disney’s BDX Droids at GTC 2025 pic.twitter.com/irGUmhygjc
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) March 18, 2025
For a while now, Disney has been dreaming of bringing these Star Wars-inspired robots to its theme parks worldwide. They've had a few controlled demos, with the latest one at SXSW 2025. Now, with Newton's help, Disney believes the technology is finally ready. They're planning to showcase these robots at various theme park locations starting next year.
In a press release, Kyle Laughlin, SVP of Disney Imagineering, mentioned that working with Nvidia and Google DeepMind will be crucial for powering Disney's future entertainment robots.
According to Nvidia, Newton is designed to make robots more "expressive" and better at handling complex tasks with precision. This physics engine helps developers simulate how robots interact with the real world, which can be tricky for robotics developers.
Nvidia says Newton is super customizable. Developers can use it to program how robots interact with things like food, cloth, sand, and other squishy or bendy objects.
Newton will also work well with Google DeepMind's tools for robotic development, including their physics engine, MuJoCo, which focuses on simulating multi-joint robot movements, Nvidia added.
Newton was just one of the many cool things Nvidia announced this week at GTC 2025. They also introduced an AI foundation model for humanoid robots called Groot N1, which helps robots understand and navigate their surroundings better. Plus, they shared details about their upcoming AI chips, like Blackwell Ultra and Rubin, and launched a new line of "personal AI computers."
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Disney und Nvidia zusammen? Das klingt nach einer ziemlich mächtigen Kombi für Robotik-Simulationen. Ich frage mich, ob das langfristig mehr für Unterhaltungsroboter in Parks genutzt wird oder ob es auch ernsthafte Anwendungen in der Industrie gibt. Die Ethik von immer realistischer werdenden KI-gesteuerten Figuren finde ich aber auch etwas beunruhigend. 🤔
Disney真的要結合機器人搞主題樂園表演嗎?這合作感覺有點奇妙啊——一邊是動畫魔法,另一邊是硬核AI模擬。看完簡介我只覺得⋯⋯以後去迪士尼會不會看到一堆機器人演員在跳火圈啊?😂 不過老實說,Nvidia這種物理引擎如果真能精確模擬動作,不只娛樂,連醫療復健機器人都能用上吧。只是個人有點擔心,如果所有動作都「太完美」,會不會反而少了人表演的那種意外驚喜感?
Роботы Диснея на базе Nvidia — это интересно, но я бы хотел увидеть больше технических деталей. Как именно Newton улучшит анимацию? Может, в будущем такие технологии сделают виртуальных персонажей ещё реалистичнее? 🤔
이런 로봇 기술이 놀랍네요. 🤖 디즈니 공원에서 실제로 활용된다면 어떤 모습일지 궁금해요. 아마도 어린이들에게 더 큰 즐거움을 줄 수 있을 것 같은데, 기술 발전 속도에 약간 압도되기도 하네... 과연 안전성은 어떻게 보장할까?
Wow, Disney robots with Nvidia and DeepMind? 🚀 That's an insane collab! But honestly, I hope they focus on more than just cute aesthetics... Can't wait to see how 'Newton' handles those complex theme park interactions. Mickey with physics-based movements sounds hilarious though! 😂

For a while now, Disney has been dreaming of bringing these Star Wars-inspired robots to its theme parks worldwide. They've had a few controlled demos, with the latest one at SXSW 2025. Now, with Newton's help, Disney believes the technology is finally ready. They're planning to showcase these robots at various theme park locations starting next year. In a press release, Kyle Laughlin, SVP of Disney Imagineering, mentioned that working with Nvidia and Google DeepMind will be crucial for powering Disney's future entertainment robots. According to Nvidia, Newton is designed to make robots more "expressive" and better at handling complex tasks with precision. This physics engine helps developers simulate how robots interact with the real world, which can be tricky for robotics developers. Nvidia says Newton is super customizable. Developers can use it to program how robots interact with things like food, cloth, sand, and other squishy or bendy objects. Newton will also work well with Google DeepMind's tools for robotic development, including their physics engine, MuJoCo, which focuses on simulating multi-joint robot movements, Nvidia added. Newton was just one of the many cool things Nvidia announced this week at GTC 2025. They also introduced an AI foundation model for humanoid robots called Groot N1, which helps robots understand and navigate their surroundings better. Plus, they shared details about their upcoming AI chips, like Blackwell Ultra and Rubin, and launched a new line of "personal AI computers."Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang debuts Groot N1, a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robots, in Disney’s BDX Droids at GTC 2025 pic.twitter.com/irGUmhygjc
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) March 18, 2025
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Disney und Nvidia zusammen? Das klingt nach einer ziemlich mächtigen Kombi für Robotik-Simulationen. Ich frage mich, ob das langfristig mehr für Unterhaltungsroboter in Parks genutzt wird oder ob es auch ernsthafte Anwendungen in der Industrie gibt. Die Ethik von immer realistischer werdenden KI-gesteuerten Figuren finde ich aber auch etwas beunruhigend. 🤔
Disney真的要結合機器人搞主題樂園表演嗎?這合作感覺有點奇妙啊——一邊是動畫魔法,另一邊是硬核AI模擬。看完簡介我只覺得⋯⋯以後去迪士尼會不會看到一堆機器人演員在跳火圈啊?😂 不過老實說,Nvidia這種物理引擎如果真能精確模擬動作,不只娛樂,連醫療復健機器人都能用上吧。只是個人有點擔心,如果所有動作都「太完美」,會不會反而少了人表演的那種意外驚喜感?
Роботы Диснея на базе Nvidia — это интересно, но я бы хотел увидеть больше технических деталей. Как именно Newton улучшит анимацию? Может, в будущем такие технологии сделают виртуальных персонажей ещё реалистичнее? 🤔
이런 로봇 기술이 놀랍네요. 🤖 디즈니 공원에서 실제로 활용된다면 어떤 모습일지 궁금해요. 아마도 어린이들에게 더 큰 즐거움을 줄 수 있을 것 같은데, 기술 발전 속도에 약간 압도되기도 하네... 과연 안전성은 어떻게 보장할까?
Wow, Disney robots with Nvidia and DeepMind? 🚀 That's an insane collab! But honestly, I hope they focus on more than just cute aesthetics... Can't wait to see how 'Newton' handles those complex theme park interactions. Mickey with physics-based movements sounds hilarious though! 😂





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