# NVIDIA's Blue (DD-614)

> Blue is a small, Star Wars-inspired robot from Disney Research, part of the company's BDX droid family. It joined NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang onstage during his GTC 2025 keynote in San Jose on March 18, 2025. TechRadar quotes Huang as saying, "Blue has two Nvidia computers inside." Disney Research's Moritz Bächer told TechRadar that each BDX droid has four actuators in the head and neck, five in each leg, and two NVIDIA Jetson computers. The droids learn to move in character through reinforcement learning in simulation. At the same keynote, NVIDIA announced Newton, an open-source physics engine for robotics built on its Warp GPU framework and OpenUSD. NVIDIA's announcement describes Newton as co-developed with Google DeepMind and Disney Research, and says Disney Research would be the first to use it for its robotic characters. Newton was not yet available at GTC. On September 29, 2025, the three organizations contributed it to the Linux Foundation, and it was released in beta under open governance. Disney had already shown BDX droids at GTC 2024. The Reel's footage shows the droid walking on a dark stage in front of a desert backdrop.

- Department: Tech
- First published: 2025-07-13
- Last updated: 2025-07-13
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/nvidias-blue/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## On the timeline

- **March 18, 2025**: Disney Research's Blue joins Jensen Huang onstage at the GTC 2025 keynote, where NVIDIA announces Newton
- **Sept. 29, 2025**: Newton is contributed to the Linux Foundation and released in beta

Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=nvidias-blue

## Quick facts

- **DD-614-F01**: Disney Research's Blue appeared at NVIDIA's GTC 2025 keynote. _(Write-up · Exhibit A (Onstage))_
- **DD-614-F02**: Newton physics engine was released in beta under the Linux Foundation in September 2025. _(Write-up · Exhibit E (Open release))_

## Write-up

A droid raised in simulation. Disney Research's Blue walked onstage at NVIDIA's GTC 2025 keynote.

1. **Onstage**: Disney Research's Blue joined Jensen Huang at the GTC 2025 keynote on March 18, 2025.
2. **Inside the droid**: BDX droids have two NVIDIA Jetson computers and 14 actuators.
3. **Trained virtually**: The droids learn their in-character moves through reinforcement learning in simulation.
4. **Newton**: Newton is an open-source physics engine built on NVIDIA Warp, co-developed with Google DeepMind and Disney Research.
5. **Open release**: Newton was announced at GTC 2025 and released in beta under the Linux Foundation on September 29, 2025.

## Related case files

- [WHRGs 2026 (DD-023)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/whrg-2026/): Another case about robots learning to move
- [Self-Made Modular (DD-061)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/self-made-modular/): Another robotics case

## Reel vs. record

- **Note**: 'Nvidia working with Disney Research and Google DeepMind, unveiled Blue': Blue is a Disney Research robot. The three-way collaboration is Newton, the physics engine, which NVIDIA announced at the same keynote.
- **Note**: 'It uses Newton': at GTC 2025, NVIDIA said Disney Research would be the first to use Newton. The engine wasn't released until a beta in September 2025, so the claim is attributed to the announcement.
- **Note**: 'Nvidia's new open-source physics engine': Newton is co-developed by NVIDIA, Google DeepMind and Disney Research, and since September 29, 2025 it has been governed by the Linux Foundation.
- **Note**: 'Driven by two onboard Nvidia computers': yes, two NVIDIA Jetson computers, according to Disney Research and to Huang onstage. The droids also have four actuators in the head and neck and five in each leg.
- **Missing**: Blue belongs to Disney's BDX droid family, which had already appeared at GTC 2024. 'Unveiled' applies to Blue as a character, not to the BDX platform.

## Video: NVIDIA's Blue: A Droid Raised in Simulation

- Duration: 22.5 s · Published: 2025-07-13
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DMCyR5Psz2q.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? At GTC 2025, Nvidia working with Disney Research and Google Deepmind, unveiled Blue, a pint-sized Star Wars-inspired entertainment robot driven by two onboard Nvidia computers. It uses Newton, Nvidia's new open-source physics engine built on their Warp GPU framework, to learn lifelike motions via reinforcement learning in simulation before operating in the real world. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: At which event did Blue appear onstage with Jensen Huang?**  
A: On March 18, 2025. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Onstage) · NVIDIA Technical Blog: Announcing Newton, an Open-Source Physics Engine for Robotics Simulation (March 18, 2025); TechRadar: Nvidia, Google, and Disney's AI-powered Star Wars robot (March 19, 2025))_

**Q: Which organization built Blue?**  
A: Part of its BDX droid family. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Onstage) · NVIDIA Technical Blog: Announcing Newton, an Open-Source Physics Engine for Robotics Simulation (March 18, 2025); TechRadar: Nvidia, Google, and Disney's AI-powered Star Wars robot (March 19, 2025))_

**Q: What GPU framework is Newton built on?**  
A: Together with OpenUSD. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Inside the droid) · TechRadar: Nvidia, Google, and Disney's AI-powered Star Wars robot (March 19, 2025); TechRadar: Disney's associate lab director of Robotics on the Star Wars BDX Droids)_

**Q: Which foundation has governed Newton since September 2025?**  
A: It was released there in beta. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Inside the droid) · TechRadar: Nvidia, Google, and Disney's AI-powered Star Wars robot (March 19, 2025); TechRadar: Disney's associate lab director of Robotics on the Star Wars BDX Droids)_

**Q: How do BDX droids learn their moves?**  
A: Then they transfer to the real robot. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Onstage) · NVIDIA Technical Blog: Announcing Newton, an Open-Source Physics Engine for Robotics Simulation (March 18, 2025); TechRadar: Nvidia, Google, and Disney's AI-powered Star Wars robot (March 19, 2025))_

## Sources

- [NVIDIA Technical Blog: Announcing Newton, an Open-Source Physics Engine for Robotics Simulation (March 18, 2025)](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/announcing-newton-an-open-source-physics-engine-for-robotics-simulation/)
- [TechRadar: Nvidia, Google, and Disney's AI-powered Star Wars robot (March 19, 2025)](https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/nvidia-google-and-disneys-ai-powered-star-wars-robot-is-absolutely-the-droid-ive-been-looking-for)
- [TechRadar: Disney's associate lab director of Robotics on the Star Wars BDX Droids](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/entertainment/star-wars-bdx-droids-the-inside-story-on-what-lies-ahead)
- [Linux Foundation: Contribution of Newton by Disney Research, Google DeepMind and NVIDIA (September 29, 2025)](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-announces-contribution-of-newton-by-disney-research-google-deepmind-and-nvidia-to-accelerate-open-robot-learning)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "NVIDIA's Blue." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-614, last updated Jul 13, 2025. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/nvidias-blue/