Sphere Entertainment Co., a Las Vegas-based entertainment and media company, is enhancing its operations with a new fleet of humanoid robots developed at its content studio in Burbank.
The Burbank campus, called Sphere Studios, handles production and postproduction work for Sphere Entertainment Co. As its parent company was preparing for the opening of its first event venue in Las Vegas, Sphere Studios was developing an artificial intelligence-powered robot that will engage with the venue’s visitors and offer directions and event information.
The company said the robot, named Aura, was designed and developed by the Burbank team using robotic platform hardware from UK-based designer Engineered Arts.Â
Five Aura robots are stationed at the Sphere venue, which opened last month. They can answer complicated questions about the venue’s design and engineering, as well as assist with queries about directions or event details. David Dibble, chief executive of Sphere Entertainment Co.’s MSG Ventures division, said that Aura will elevate the guest experience for visitors.
“Aura’s role at Sphere marks a truly innovative application of robots, providing guests from around the globe with an opportunity to move into the future of entertainment and interact within a new technological frontier,” Dibble said. “With Aura, we are pushing the boundaries of how robotics can be used to enhance our guests’ journey through the venue.”
The Sphere Studios facility sits on a 68,000-square-foot campus in Burbank that contains development offices, post-production and editing suites and sound stages. The studio’s main feature is a 28,000-square-foot screening and production facility called the Big Dome, which is a miniature version of the company’s spherical venue in Las Vegas. The studio opened in May of last year and previously developed an ultra-high-resolution camera system for Sphere called “Big Sky.”
“Sphere Studios features technology and proprietary tools developed specifically for Sphere that make content creation for this platform a seamless experience,” Sphere Entertainment Co. said in a recent financial report. “Sphere Studios is also home to an interdisciplinary team of creative, production, technology and software experts who provide full in-house creative and production services, including strategy and concept, capture, post-production and show production.”
The company said that Aura’s technical capabilities will advance over time as the robots interact with guests. Each of the Aura robots will be accompanied by human technicians and, outside of the Sphere venue, they will serve as a “brand ambassador” to the company on social media.