Disney has been partnering with Hanson Robotics to collaborate on artificial intelligence for Disney character robots. Dr. David Hanson, CEO of Hanson Robotics gave an update on the the partnership when speaking at a tech conference in London, TechXLR8. The work has been to create robots that can mimic human expressions and interactions in a manner in which they can actually interact and react to humans. Hanson Robotics has already built a successful robot that is used as a mobile teaching robot. It is called Professor Einstein and being shipped around to test out how it works.

There hasn’t been a lot of details releases yet about how we can expect this technology to be used at Walt Disney World and the other Disney parks. Dr. Hanson used a photo of Elsa in his demonstration at the conference, but we have no way of knowing for sure which character we might first see created as a robot that can interact with guests. This would be a huge step in the future of character interactions, as well as how shows and rides are created at Walt Disney World. Disney is all about immersive experiences and this really is a huge step in that direction.

What do you all think of this exciting work in progress? Which character would you most like see created as a robot?