Since the company’s early days as an MIT spinoff, Boston Dynamics’ systems have always provided entertainment value. It’s something the Hyundai-owned company has long embraced, posting dozens of outrageous viral videos over the decades.
With few exceptions, however, entertainment was more of a sideshow than the end goal. This, however, will change in the near future, as the company just announced a deal with Singapore-based entertainment company Neon.
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Notably (for our purposes, at least), Neon is the parent company of Animax Designs. The Nashville-based company has created theme parks and animatronics shows for some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, including Avatar, Jurassic Park, Marvel and Harry Potter.
No real details have been revealed, other than that the deal is “set to culminate in an unveiling in late 2024 that will engage, inspire and dazzle audiences.” Whether it means theme park robots or something else is completely unclear at this point.
A huge plus for Neon/Animax is Boston Dynamics’ ability to produce robust and untethered autonomous systems at scale. The world of theme park robots has been transformed in recent years, with experiences like Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge showcasing robots that blend in with park guests.
“We are excited to partner with Neon and Animax to develop fully untethered entertainment robots,” Boston Dynamics Chief Strategy Officer Marc Theermann notes in a release. “These highly interactive creatures are poised to captivate consumers through new and exciting engagements. By joining forces with Neon, a pioneer in immersive storytelling, we combine our cutting-edge technology with their immersive storytelling experience.”
The deal marks another step in Boston Dynamics’ commercialization roadmap, which began with the Spot quadruped and the truck-unloading robot, Stretch. However, the company’s entertainment roots stretch back even further. Marc Raibert and team also produced robots for the set of the 1993 Sean Connery/Wesley Snipes/Michael Crichton film, ‘Rising Sun’.
