Disney has provided an insight into the future of its theme parks, where robotic versions of its iconic characters could soon walk among guests. The entertainment firm discussed plans to embrace brand new technologies at SXSW 2017, where it also showed off footage of a robot Pascal, the lizard from Tangled. As if the thought of an enormous, roaming robot Mickey Mouse wasn't disconcerting enough, Disney also confirmed that artificial intelligence will allow its robots to interact with people. "I think AI and machine learning is going to be very important for what we do," Jon Snoddy, Disney's senior vice president for research and development, told the BBC. "Things like characters that can move around among our guests. They're going to need to understand where they're going, have goals, and they're going to have to know how to navigate in a world with humans."