During the panel The Art & Science of Disney Parks Storytelling at SXSW (South by Southwest), innovation and technology conference, the company made a rather unusual announcement. From inside a box, a child-sized rabbit-shaped robot emerged, wearing roller skates — resembling Zootopia protagonist Judy Hopps.
He is similar to a character from the studios, with thin legs and body, but with large eyes and head. The idea is that the novelty is available at all theme parks as an ancillary. The presentation was made by Josh D’Amaro, President of Products and Experiences for Disney Parks.
The idea of the robot is that, in addition to helping with the organization and providing information in the parks, it can create an emotional connection with visitors and interact a lot. Disney is investing in high-performance materials, mechanical scaling effects and motion capture data.
However, there were no more details regarding its operation, its name, the duration of its battery and whether it is autonomous or if it works with controls. Release forecast was also not disclosed or which locations it will be installed in the parks, but there is speculation that it will inaugurate the Zootopia themed area of Shanghai Disneyland, which is scheduled to open later this year.
In this way, he is just a prototype, but he is already capable of falling and getting up by himself and doing somersaults.
And you, what do you think the Disney robot might do to facilitate the organization of the parks and please the children? Leave your comment below!
