Yes, I'm Still OBSESSED With Disney's 'Star Wars' Droids

Disney Imagineers are always at the forefront of technology. Whether that technology revolves around bringing characters like Hulk to life in Disney Parks or creating a tiny Tinker Bell you can talk to, Disney Imagineers are always pushing the boundaries in what is possible.

This is especially true with robotics, and the world has been recently wowed by the BD units previously seen roaming around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland. Those robots are now the STARS of a technology conference.

Every year, Nvidia holds the GTC conference, which is a global conference on artificial intelligence for those working in the industry. Topics discussed include everything from computer graphics to AI, as well as robotics. During this year’s conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed off some new robotic technology that included some of Disney’s robots.

Disney Imagineers worked with animators to design the droid units that combine “procedural animation, modular hardware, and reinforcement learning” so that each is its own character that can walk and move with its own unique traits. Huang interacted with the little guys during the conference pretty much proving that they have minds of their own.

So why are these droids being showcased at an Nvidia conference? Well, Disney’s BD units learned to walk using Nvidia’s Isaac Sim, a robotics simulation toolkit that designers can use to develop and train AI robots. Watch the full video of Huang’s conference below.

Disney has not yet revealed if these robots will return to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland or make their way to Disney World, but the technology will certainly be something future Disney visitors will see in the parks. When? Well, that remains to be seen. However, the possibilities seem endless.

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