Nvidia announces new Newton physics engine for robotic motion simulation
By ForGeeks Nvidia announced a collaboration with Disney Research and Google DeepMind to develop Newton, a new physics engine designed to simulate robot movements in real-world environments. The announcement was made by Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang at GTC 2025, which took place this Tuesday.
Realistic robots for Disney
Disney will be one of the first users of Newton to use it to develop its future entertainment robots, including Star Wars inspired BDX robots. One such droid demonstrated its capabilities on stage next to Juan during its unveiling.
Nvidia plans to release an early version of Newton in open source in late 2025. This version will be available to developers who can integrate the physics engine into their projects.
Nvidia plans to release an early version of Newton in open source.
Application at Disney parks
In recent years, Disney has actively proposed the idea of introducing Star Wars-inspired robots into its theme parks around the world. There have been several demonstrations of these droids, including at SXSW 2025. Thanks to Newton, the company believes the technology is now ready for large-scale use. Disney plans to begin displaying the robots in its parks as early as next year.
Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president of Disney Imagineering, said the collaboration with Nvidia and Google DeepMind will be an important step in developing future entertainment robots for Disney.
The Newton Robotics Opportunity
Newton is designed to help robots become more «expressive» and «learn to perform complex tasks with greater precision». This physics engine will be useful for developers looking to model how robots interact with the natural world, which can be difficult for robotics to predict.
One of the key features of Newton is that it is highly customizable. Developers will be able to use it to program robot interactions with a variety of objects such as food, cloth, sand, and other deformable objects.
Developers will be able to use it to program robot interactions with a variety of objects such as food, cloth, sand, and other deformable objects.
Integration with MuJoCo and Google’s DeepMind ecosystem
Newton will be compatible with the ecosystem of robot development tools from Google DeepMind, including their MuJoCo physics engine, which simulates the movements of multi-jointed robots.
Other announcements from Nvidia
Newton was one of the many announcements made by Nvidia at GTC 2025. The company also unveiled the AI Groot N1, an AI model designed to improve how robots perceive and analyze their environment. In addition, Nvidia revealed the release schedule for its new AI chips, including Blackwell Ultra and Rubin, and announced a new line of «personal AI computers».
