Yesterday, during The Art and Science of Disney Parks’ Storyelling panel at SXSW, the Disney Imagineers unveiled their newest type of robot for use in their parks for small characters, starting with none other than our favorite rabbit, Judy Hopps! It can climb out of boxes, roller skate around, do somersaults, and even gets ready for a shoulder ride when picked up. It’s a fascinating piece of technology, and I have to wonder how it is powered and how long it will last before it needs to be recharged.
That said, without its “skin”, it falls past the uncanny valley and right into an uncanny canyon. Reactions have been mixed so far, with Gizmodo calling it a “nightmarish little freak“, while others like Disney Food Blog have called it “SO COOL!”. The main question we have is “why rollerskating?”
Still, this has the potential to make park visits very, very interesting. We at ZNN will be looking forward to seeing where this goes.
You can check out videos of the robot’s debut here:
SO COOL!! #SXSW2023 #SXSW #Disney pic.twitter.com/0le8sxr70w
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) March 10, 2023
and its test run here:
A robot prototype of Judy Hopps revealed today at SXSW 2023.
It can fall down, get back up, move around on roller skates, and even do a somersault.pic.twitter.com/MUZgagR0CS
— Disney Animation Promos (@DisneyAPromos) March 10, 2023
It is an intriguing piece of technology, and I can’t help but wonder how it gets its power and how long it will continue to function before it has to be recharged.