NVIDIA Announces Newton, A New Open-Source Physics Engine Created in Collaboration with Disney Research and Google DeepMind
The engine is set to create worthwhile autonomous character interactions at the Disney Parks and beyond.
NVIDIA, a tech company known for their graphics processing units (GPUs) and other high performance computer tech, recently teamed up with Disney and Google on one of their new innovative projects.
What’s Happening:
- NVIDIA announced today their new portfolio of technologies, including a major collaboration with Google DeepMind and Disney Research.
- Newton, an open source physics engine, was created to give robots the ability to handle complex tasks with greater precision.
- The engine, which was built on the NVIDIA Warp framework, is set to be optimized for robot learning. The three collaborators also plan to allow Newton to use Disney’s physics engine.
- Disney Research is set to be one of the first to use Newton for its next generation of entertainment robots, including the Star Wars BDX droids that are set to begin making appearances at the Disney Parks soon.
- One of the adorable robots joined NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang during the company’s Tuesday keynote speech at the 2025 GTC conference.
- We are expected to get even more information on Disney’s commitment to advance robotics in entertainment at a talkback session with Moritz Baecher, Associate Lab Director at Disney Research.
- Kicking off at 4PM PDT, those in attendance will get to learn more about the company’s artist-centric tools that provide control of dynamic character motion. They’ll also share more insight into the free roaming robots characters coming to the Disney Parks, and discuss the work being done to bring engaging autonomous characters to life.
What They’re Saying:
- Kyle Laughlin, SVP, Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development: “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. This collaboration will allow us to create a new generation of robotic characters that are more expressive and engaging than ever before — and connect with our guests in ways that only Disney can."
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