IMAGE VIA DISNEY IMAGINEERING
Walt Disney World (Website) has just launched a gaggle of “duckling” droids, and we already can’t get enough.
The new BDX droids started waddling around Disney’s Hollywood Studios on July 16, and we hope they never go away, because these are exactly the droids we were looking for. You can see them Tuesday through Saturday, seven times a day on the hour starting at 10:30 a.m.
The bots were designed by Disney Imagineering to be expressive and immersive, and they rely on reinforcement learning, sensors, and GPUs. They can dance and bob their heads, and steal your hearts if you’re not paying attention. Due to Florida’s heat and humidity, the Zurick-built droids now feature milled components in place of earlier 3D‑printed parts. They’ve also been trained to navigate varied terrain, with rain protection via plastic coverings.
Look for them in the upcoming “Mandalorian and Grogu” film next year.
