Disney is getting into the next-gen robot game and it's kind of cute

• Disney is partnering with Nvidia and Google DeepMind to create an open-source physics engine.
• The engine will help robots learn to navigate complex tasks.
• Disney hopes to feature entertainment robots at its theme parks.

On stage during a keynote speech this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke to an adorable robot named Blue, which responded in classic "bee-boop" robot language.

It was a modern meet cute.

Jensen introduced the robot at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference — which some are calling the Super Bowl of AI — on Tuesday in San Jose, California.

Huang said Disney Research is partnering with Nvidia and Google DeepMind to develop Newton, an open-source physics engine to help robots like Blue learn to navigate complex tasks more accurately. Newton is built on the Nvidia Warp framework. Disney Research plans to use the advanced technology to upgrade its robotic characters to be more lifelike and expressive.

"Disney Research will be the first to use Newton to advance its robotic character platform that powers next-generation entertainment robots," a press release said.

An Nvidia spokesperson told BI that the first conversation between the company, Google Deepmind, and Disney Research took place in December.

The audience attending Huang's keynote address clapped and cheered when Blue, a droid inspired by "Star Wars," walked onstage. The droids, which have not used Newton yet, will be coming to Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris this year. A squad of the droids appeared with Jon Favreau and Disney Imagineers at the 2025 SXSW Conference & Festivals.

Disney Imagineers first revealed the robots at a Disney event in 2023. During the demonstration, three robots roamed around the "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

While Disney has used audio-animatronic figures in its park attractions for decades, the new droids would elevate the company's robot game to a new level.

Huang and Blue had a brief conversation during the presentation. Blue responded to Huang's questions with beeps, head nods, and body wiggles. The robots were remote-controlled by a human at the event.

"This is how we're going to train robots in the future," Huang said, adding that two Nvidia computers were operating inside Blue.

"The BDX droids are just the beginning. We're committed to bringing more characters to life in ways the world hasn't seen before, and this collaboration with Disney Research, Nvidia, and Google DeepMind is a key part of that vision," Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president at Disney Imagineering Research & Development, said in a press release.

During the keynote speech, Huang also announced an open-sourced humanoid robot foundational model, Isaac GR00T N1. A press release said Isaac GR00T N1 is "the first of a family of fully customizable models that Nvidia will pre-train and release to worldwide robotics developers."

Once the realm of science fiction, the hype is building around robots as AI accelerates their advancement. Nvidia is one of the leaders in the industry, which is largely powered by its AI computing chips.

Huang told reporters at the GTC conference that he expects humanoids to replace factory workers in just a few years rather than decades. "This is not a five-years-away problem," Huang said.

Huang ended his keynote address with a nod to Disney's droid.

"Okay, Blue. Let's go home," Huang said. "Good job."

Representatives for Google did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.