Disney’s Next-Gen Robots: How Nvidia & DeepMind Are Powering a New Era of Lifelike Character Design

Disney has officially stepped into the next generation of robotics — and the crossover of tech, AI, and character design is more fascinating than ever. At Nvidia’s GTC Conference 2025, CEO Jensen Huang introduced “Blue,” an expressive robot inspired by Star Wars, marking a major shift in how Disney imagines entertainment-grade robotics.

This initiative isn’t just about cute droids. It represents a deeper evolution: robots engineered with emotion, physics-based intelligence, and lifelike responsiveness.

Disney next-gen robots - A Partnership That Blends AI, Robotics & Character Design

Disney Research is partnering with Nvidia and Google DeepMind to develop Newton, a new open-source physics engine that teaches robots how to navigate complex tasks in more human-like ways.

Newton is built on Nvidia’s Warp framework and aims to help robots:

• Understand motion and weight

• Balance physical forces in real time

• Learn through simulation

• Move expressively, not mechanically

Disney next-gen robots will evolve their long tradition of animatronics into something far richer and more interactive.

Blue, the Star Wars Droid, Takes the Stage

During the keynote, Disney’s BDX droid “Blue” walked onstage, wiggled, nodded, and “spoke”

in classic beep language. While Blue is still operated manually, future versions will integrate

Newton, transforming these droids from performers into autonomous characters.

Guests will soon meet the BDX droids at:

• Walt Disney World

• Tokyo Disneyland

• Disneyland Paris

The moment marks a new phase in entertainment robotics—one where AI gives characters intelligence, not just animation.

From Animatronics to Autonomous Companions

For decades, Disney’s parks relied on animatronics: mechanical, pre-programmed robots designed to move in fixed loops. With Newton and AI-driven systems, the next generation of robots will:

• React to guests in real time

• Express emotions through movement

• Navigate spaces autonomously

• Allow deeper storytelling interactions

Disney Imagineering describes this as “bringing characters to life in ways the world hasn’t seen before.”

Nvidia’s GR00T: A Foundation Model for Robots

Beyond the Disney partnership, Nvidia unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, an open-source foundational model for humanoid robots. Think of it as a base brain that robotics developers can customize for different industries.

Nvidia believes humanoid robots will replace factory workers not in decades — but in a few years.

Disney’s involvement puts them at the center of this robotics revolution, merging emotional design with technical intelligence.

Why This Matters for Design & Experience

From a design perspective, this moment marks a shift from machine behavior to character behavior:

• Movement becomes storytelling

• Physics becomes emotion

• Robotics becomes world-building

This aligns perfectly with the future of immersive environments, where the boundaries between digital, physical, and narrative design dissolve.

For designers, technologists, and creatives, this is more than news — it’s a preview of the emotional interfaces of tomorrow.

Written by Otávio Santiago, a multidisciplinary designer exploring the intersection of emotion, form, and technology. His practice spans graphic, motion, and 3D design, bridging digital and physical experiences.