At the 2025 GTC conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced a collaboration with Disney Research and Google DeepMind to develop a physics engine called "Newton." This engine is designed to simulate robot movement in real-world environments, paving the way for future entertainment robots.
Image Source Note: Image generated by AI, licensed from Midjourney.
Disney will be among the first to utilize Newton technology, intending to integrate it into its next-generation entertainment robots, such as the Star Wars-inspired BDX robot. A BDX robot even made a live appearance during Huang's keynote, showcasing its impressive mobility.
Nvidia plans to release an early open-source version of Newton later in 2025. Disney has been working for years to bring these Star Wars-inspired robots to its global theme parks. These robots have previously undergone controlled demonstrations on several occasions, most recently at SXSW 2025. Now, empowered by Newton, Disney is confident in showcasing these robots across multiple theme parks starting next year.
Kyle Laughlin, Vice President of Creative Engineering at Disney, stated in a press release that the collaboration with Nvidia and Google DeepMind will be pivotal in the technological advancement of future Disney entertainment robots. Newton is designed to make robots more "expressive" and "learn how to handle complex tasks with greater precision." This physics engine helps developers simulate how robots interact with the natural world, a significant challenge for robotics developers.
Nvidia highlights Newton's high degree of customizability, allowing developers to program robots to interact with deformable objects like food, fabrics, and sand. Furthermore, Newton will be compatible with Google DeepMind's robotics development tool ecosystem, including MuJoCo, a physics engine for simulating the movement of multi-jointed robots.
Beyond Newton, Nvidia unveiled several other key announcements at the conference, including Groot N1, an AI foundation model for humanoid robots designed to improve environmental perception and reasoning. Nvidia also shared its timeline for next-generation AI chips, including Blackwell Ultra and Rubin, and launched a range of "personal AI computers."
Key Highlights:
🌟 Nvidia and Google DeepMind collaborate on the Newton physics engine to simulate robot movement.
🤖 Disney plans to deploy Star Wars-inspired BDX robots in its theme parks, showcasing advanced technology.
🛠️ The Newton engine offers high customizability, enabling robot interaction with diverse objects.
