AI-powered Disney robots steal the show at Nvidia conference

Disney Star Wars droids end Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote speech at GTC 2024, showing off the latest in Nvidia AI-powered tech.

With advancements in AI ramping up every day, tech giants like Nvidia are leading the way, with events like the GTC 2024. The annual artificial intelligence conference is currently running in San Jose, CA from March 18 – 21, bringing together industry developers and researchers to shape what’s next to come in the ongoing development of AI technologies.

While GTC 2024 is full of exhibitions and technical workshops surrounding generative AI, one of the biggest draws of the event was the keynote by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. At the keynote, Huang made several big announcements, from new Nvidia partnerships to the successor to the H100 chip, but it was the Star Wars BD droids from Disney that stole the show.

The droids Nvidia is looking for

Posted on TikTok by cnetdotcom, Jensen Huang wrapped up his keynote GTX 2024 presentation by welcoming “special guests” Star Wars droids on stage. The droids, modeled after BD units from the Star Wars franchise, are named Orange and Green BD-X.

According to Huang, the impressive, and equally adorable droids learned to walk with Nvidia Isaac Sim, a robotics simulation platform. They’re powered by Nvidia Jetson Nano developer kits, small powerful AI computers designed to power AI applications and devices.

“This is Orange, and this is the famous Green, they are the BD-X robots of Disney”, Huang exclaims in the footage as the droids show off their AI compatibilities on the GTXC 2024 stage.

This isn’t the first time Disney has shown off some impressive droids. Just last year, similar-looking animatronic droids were spotted being controlled with the Valve Steam Deck at Disneyland. The droids in question were also Star Wars BD units, similar to that of BD1 from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor.

For a more in-depth look at the BD-X droids, they will be showcased during a talk by Mortiz Beacher at GTC 2024. The talk, which will be presented on March 20, will be available live on the Nvidia website for those not attending GTC 2024 in person.