Technet: Daily Crunch - Meet Disney Imagineering's new robot

Friday, April 23, 2021

The big story: Meet Disney Imagineering's new robot

Disney Imagineering’s Project Kiwi represents a real robotics milestone — a free-walking robot that seems to fully capture the personality of the original character. In this case, the original is Groot, the beloved tree character from “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

I’m not just saying that based on the demo video, either. Matthew Panzarino has seen Project Kiwi in person and reports:

The pint-sized character has accurately rendered textures on its face, hands and feet. It's dressed in a distressed red flight suit that you may remember from the films. And its eyes are expressive as it looks at me and waves. This is the moment, the one that Disney Imagineers and park goers alike have been waiting decades to realize.

The big story: Meet Disney Imagineering's new robot image

Image Credits: Walt Disney Imagineering R&D Inc.

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Image Credits: Ottopia

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(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

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Image Credits: KTSDESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images

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