News Tech Crunch: WDI Builds Free Roaming Bipedal Animatronic Groot With “Project Kiwi”

[the.dreamfinder]

Disney Imagineering’s Project Kiwi is a free-walking robot that will make you believe in Groot | TechCrunch

The black curtain pulls aside and a character straight out of the movies waves hello. This is not an uncommon occurrence when I’m around Imagineers, but

techcrunch.com

 

[monothingie]

For perspective, the interactive Droids in SWGE weren't even able to survive the budget cuts.

Also unless it's coming from Instagramineer Extraordinaire Zach Ridley's Instagram, I don't believe it.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

For perspective, the interactive Droids in SWGE weren't even able to survive the budget cuts.

Also unless it's coming from Instagramineer Extraordinaire Zach Ridley's Instagram, I don't believe it.

It’s an R&D project, not necessarily intended for the parks in the way the droids were.

 

[wdwmagic]

Very impressive!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It’s an R&D project, not necessarily intended for the parks in the way the droids were.

Gah, remember that sick freaking dragon? I had such high hopes for that thing.

 

[Nottamus]

Very awesome!

Perhaps one day....in the parks.

 

[DaveN1996]

Give it a couple of years in the park, and before you know it, it'll be propped up in a corner with strobe lighting to make it appear it's still moving

 

[Surferboy567]

Cosmic Rewind? Maybe as a limited time thing?

 

[TikibirdLand]

Gah, remember that sick freaking dragon? I had such high hopes for that thing.

I've seen videos of the walking dinosaur and the mobile muppet labs. I'd love to see both in person!
Interesting that they developed the walking aspect themselves. I figured they'd get a Honda Asimo and add the Groot dressing to it. Very Impressive!

 

[Brer Oswald]

Marvel? .

But really though, that is insanely cool.

 

[Giss Neric]

At first I thought this will be for Cosmic Rewind then I realized that is a rollercoaster.

 

[ToTBellHop]

He’s incredible. Hope to see him strutting around Future World. Errr...World Discovery.

 

[Surferboy567]

At first I thought this will be for Cosmic Rewind then I realized that is a rollercoaster.

They can easily do character meet and greets. Their is also so much we don’t know about Cosmic Rewind. I think it’s supposed to be the “adult” version of Groot.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I've seen videos of the walking dinosaur and the mobile muppet labs. I'd love to see both in person!
Interesting that they developed the walking aspect themselves. I figured they'd get a Honda Asimo and add the Groot dressing to it. Very Impressive!

I saw them both.... once. Also Remy (lifesive not costumed character) greeting guests in France.

WDI can do it, Parks don’t want to pay for it. (Also see talking Mickey).

 

[SplashJacket]

They can easily do character meet and greets. Their is also so much we don’t know about Cosmic Rewind. I think it’s supposed to be the “adult” version of Groot.

The BB animatronic in the Oceaneer's Club on the Dream and Fantasy functions as a meet and greet. The animatronic is on a pedestal that gets lowered down from the ceiling when in use.

The Cast Members get very understandable hissy when you touch the platform (they tell you not to touch it before you go and take your photo), so the main obstacle I see with deploying a walk-around animatronic is people touching him.

If the animatronic was large or had 4 legs, a small push from a little kid probably wouldn't knock him over, but this is a relatively small animatronic that is undoubtedly very expensive, and quite fragile, so it would take quite a bit of crowd control to ensure its safety.

The most likely use of the animatronic to me would be for a stage show, or really any show with a hard boundary. After the show, they could definitely do covid meet & greet style pictures where he is in the background, but I just don't think they could get the level of intimacy in a normal meet and greet or walkaround character.

 

[Po'Rich]

This is sooo cool!

 

[Brer Oswald]

He’s incredible. Hope to see him strutting around Future World. Errr...World Discovery.

World of metal and concrete*

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I saw them both.... once. Also Remy (lifesive not costumed character) greeting guests in France.

WDI can do it, Parks don’t want to pay for it. (Also see talking Mickey).

It’s truly a shame. For a company so desperate to compete with UNI, something like this is a real differentiator because only Disney could do something like this. The UNI guys just krazy glue a bunch of crap onto a Boston Dynamics robot and call it a day.

 

[doctornick]

Gah, remember that sick freaking dragon? I had such high hopes for that thing.

Yeah, I still don't get why they can't have that come out every night at a scheduled time. Or at least over the weekends or something.

Heaven forbid they do some entertainment "plussing" like that.

 

[doctornick]

At first I thought this will be for Cosmic Rewind then I realized that is a rollercoaster.

Could easily be in the pre-show though. They have a Rocket AA in the pre-show at DCA.