Disney Parks debuts new AI-powered Olaf robot

The magic that powers Disney parks around the world is getting an AI upgrade.

The entertainment giant’s parks division has released the first look at a new, AI-powered Olaf animatronic in a series of social media posts and a short YouTube documentary, showcasing the robot’s ability to independently navigate around the park, move its limbs and facial expressions, and engage in Frozen-themed banter with guests.

In promotional videos of the new robot, Olaf waddles through Disneyland Paris’ World of Frozen land at a quick pace as the park’s experts explain how he works. At one point, the animatronic stops between them, looks up, and, waving his stick arm, says a bright “Hello!”

Disney’s crafty Imagineers designed the new generation animatronic using a form of artificial intelligence called reinforcement learning, allowing the self-propelling robot to mimic motions and navigate and interact with its environment independently. Disney partnered with NVIDIA and Google DeepMind to build a new open-source simulation framework called Newton and an accompanying simulator called Kamino to power the robotics.

The robot’s nose and arms are also removable, just like in the films, and iridescent fibers were embedded across it’s body to mimic magical snow. With additional AI powering its ability to speak and respond to guests on its own, Disney has called it the most expressive and true-to-life characters it’s ever built.

“This debut marks a new chapter in Disney character innovation, one where technology, storytelling, and collaboration come together to bring screen to reality,” the company wrote in a blog post, noting it plans to expand to the line of robots in the future. “The BDX Droids, self-balancing H.E.R.B.I.E., and now Olaf represent increasing levels of performance and innovation in bringing Disney characters to life. The speed at which we can create new characters and introduce them to guests is unprecedented.”

The Olaf robot will start interacting with guests at Disneyland Paris soon, according to Disney, and will make limited appearances at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Watch Disney’s latest episode of “We Call It Imagineering,” it’s behind-the-scenes YouTube show, to see more: