A new generation of Audio-Animatronic’s are being introduced into Disney Parks and this new iteration of the technology will be bringing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to life in a whole new way!
A1000 advanced robotics are the next evolution of the A100 Audio-Animatronic figures that were first introduced by Walt Disney Imagineering in the mid-1980s. This standardized system for building humanoid robotic figures incorporates new electric functionality, replacing former hydraulic functions, producing extremely realistic, lifelike movement. Future figures in humanoid form can all use this system to ensure the same degree of realism and advanced levels of movement.
The advanced figures that were developed for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – like this animated figure of Hondo Ohnaka from the Star Wars animated television series – are a hybrid of A1000 technology enhanced with custom-built elements. Take a look at the video below:
The character can be seen talking and gesturing, and had the video not shown footage of the animatronic figure being assembled, it could easily be mistaken for a human being in make-up.
Hondo Ohnaka is a part of a ride called Smuggler’s Run and will presumably give you your mission briefing before you board the Millennium Falcon. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at California’s Disneyland Resort in summer 2019 and Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort in fall 2019.