Ever since Disney’s lifelike BDX droids began appearing at public events and greeting guests at parks, they’ve become a popular talking point on how robotics can aid storytelling, immersion, and the guest experience. Taken from the Star Wars universe, the droids, which were created with an emphasis on non-verbal expressiveness and the ability to autonomously roam, most recently appeared alongside Disney CEO Bob Iger at The Walt Disney Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders and at Disney’s featured sessions at the SXSW festival.
The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) recently sat down with the SVP at Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Kyle Laughlin, to learn more about the development process behind the BDX droids and what makes them so compelling.
TWDC: What is the technological breakthrough that the BDX droids represent?
Kyle Laughlin (KL): The BDX droids are a big leap forward — not just for robotics, but for how we bring beloved characters to life in the real world. They’re the first of a new generation of expressive, free-roaming robots we’ve developed at Disney that can learn to move and balance like living beings. Thanks to reinforcement learning, they train in simulation before ever taking a real step. But beyond the tech, what really sets them apart is that spark of personality — they’re full of life, and they make people smile. That’s what we’re really after: emotional connection through technology.
TWDC: How was your team able to make them so lifelike?
KL: We always start with the character. Technology is just the tool — we use it in service of story and emotion. With BDX, that meant thinking about how they move, how they emote, and how guests might engage with them in a meaningful way. From their physical proportions to the way their heads tilt or how their feet land, every choice was made to support believability. And then we added a human touch: a puppeteer behind the scenes who brings out the nuances that make them feel alive.
Read the rest of the interview at The Walt Disney Company’s website.
