Because the firm’s earliest days as an MIT spinoff, Boston Dynamics’ methods have all the time offered leisure worth. It’s one thing the Hyundai-owned agency has lengthy embraced by releasing dozens of wildly viral movies over the many years.
With a number of exceptions, nonetheless, leisure was extra of facet profit than the final word purpose. That, nonetheless, will probably be altering within the close to future, because the agency just announced a deal with Singapore-based leisure model, Neon.
Need the highest robotics information in your inbox every week? Signal up for Actuator here.
Notably (for our functions, no less than), Neon is the guardian firm of Animax Designs. The Nashville-based agency has created theme park and exhibition animatronics for a few of Hollywood’s largest franchises, together with Avatar, Jurassic Park, Marvel and Harry Potter.
No actual specifics have been disclosed, past the truth that the deal “is set to culminate with a reveal at the end of 2024 that will engage, inspire, and dazzle audiences.” Whether or not than means theme park robots or one thing else totally is unclear for now.
An enormous profit for Neon/Animax is Boston Dynamics’ potential to provide strong and untethered autonomous methods at scale. The world of theme park robots has remodeled lately, with experiences like Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge exhibiting robots that intermingle with park goers.
“We are thrilled about the collaboration with Neon and Animax for the development of fully untethered entertainment robots,” Boston Dynamics Chief Technique Officerf Marc Theermann notes in a launch. “These exceptionally interactive creatures are poised to captivate consumers through novel and exciting engagements. By joining forces with Neon, a frontrunner in immersive storytelling, we’re blending our cutting-edge technology with their enchanting storytelling expertise.”
The deal marks one other step in Boston Dynamics’ commercialization roadmap, which started with the Spot quadruped and the truck unloading robotic, Stretch. The corporate’s leisure roots stretch again even additional, nonetheless. Marc Raibert and staff also produced robots for the set of 1993’s Sean Connery/Wesley Snipes/Michael Crichton movie, Rising Solar.
