Apr 21, 2026
Delivering New Emotional Experiences: How the "groovots" Entertainment Swarm Robot System is Expanding Creative Possibilities
As entertainment evolves to new heights, Sony Group is advancing the research, development, and practical deployment of cutting-edge technologies that enable creators to bring bold new ideas and expressions to life. Among these innovations is "groovots" the entertainment swarm robot system.
Developed using Sony’s expertise in live solutions and robotics, this system was introduced at THE IDOLM@STER series’ first-ever solo idol concert at the Nippon Budokan. It delivered surprise and excitement to audiences, and new inspiration to creators.
In this article, we explore the potential demonstrated by groovots through interviews with the engineers and designers involved in its development.
Enabling Stage Productions Exactly as Envisioned
groovots is a groundbreaking system that addresses the technical challenge of maintaining precise positioning across multiple robots while synchronizing them to venue audio signals with high accuracy. At the same time, it allows creators to integrate the system directly into the video, CG production, and programming applications that they use on a daily basis.
By combining robots of different sizes equipped with LED displays, groovots enables new forms of spatial expression that make full use of the performance environment. Derived from the words “groove,” meaning rhythm and movement, and “robot”, the groovots name suggests the technology is designed for a wide range of entertainment experiences. These include not only music concerts and festivals, but also stage productions, dance performances, and events at theme parks or shopping malls ; any setting where space can be used to delight audiences.
At the Sony Group-wide technology exchange event Sony Technology Exchange Fair (STEF) 2025, a groovots live stage demonstration was presented featuring a large robot positioned as the main performer, alongside smaller robots playing the role of backup dancers. The demonstration garnered significant interest from the engineers and creators in attendance, with some approaching the team with concrete event schedules, describing groovots as “the technology most needed in the field right now.”
This response reflected the deep resonance between people supporting the evolution of entertainment and the development team’s strong commitment to providing technology capable of faithfully realizing directors' creative visions.
A New Emotional Experience Making Waves Online: "Like magic"
An emotionally powerful experience that exceeded audience imagination came to life at the Nippon Budokan in January 2026, with the “OathONE” solo concert by Chihaya Kisaragi, one of the most popular and iconic singers in Bandai Namco Entertainment’s THE IDOLM@STER game series. groovots was integrated into the stage production, captivating fans in attendance.
On the live performance stage, twelve small robots moved freely between the main stage and the runway, filling the space with dynamic visual effects and richly expressive motion. During transitions between songs, a large robot equipped with an LED panel approximately two meters wide and two meters tall made a dramatic appearance, revealing Chihaya Kisaragi herself. The robot smoothly walked down the runway amidst a wall of excitement and surprise. Its movements were remarkably fluid, and even its gestures, such as waving to fans, felt natural and lifelike. As the scene unfolded, cheers of astonishment echoed throughout the venue, as if Chihaya truly existed in the physical world.
This was a new kind of emotional experience that seamlessly bridged the physical and virtual, blurring the boundary between reality and imagination. After the performance, reactions describing the moment as “like magic” appeared online, extending the emotional resonance well beyond the venue.
This moment can be seen as a significant milestone in Sony’s ongoing live co-creation initiatives.
During a program transition, Chihaya Kisaragi appeared with groovots and moved along the runway, captivating the audience with a remarkably lifelike performance.
The introduction of groovots into the Budokan live performance began when Sony PCL, which oversaw the project’s technical direction, introduced the system to Bandai Namco Entertainment during ongoing discussions and presented a demonstration of the technology. Through collaboration with THE IDOLM@STER, an IP with a large and deeply passionate fanbase, the project reaffirmed the importance of delivering experiences to audiences by seamlessly weaving technology into the stories envisioned by directors.
Toward Further Evolution
In feedback from members of Bandai Namco Entertainment and the directors, we were told that groovots served as a central pillar for the Budokan live production, accounting for roughly 30 to 50 percent of overall staging. This feedback was deeply encouraging, but this is just the project’s beginning, not the end goal. Through this project, we have clearly identified both the system’s potential and the challenges that must be addressed as it continues to evolve.
One of the most immediate challenges is development speed. When a creator shares a concrete vision, the ideal is to realize it in the shortest time possible. Shortening design cycles and enabling faster trial and error not only helps bring their ideas to life more efficiently but also creates more opportunities to use groovots and to learn from those uses. While development currently takes several months, accelerating this process is a key focus as we look ahead.
The second challenge lies in deepening co-creation with creators. Engineers can present the concrete possibilities enabled by technology, but it is creators who conceive of how those capabilities can be transformed into meaningful experiences. This exchange, driven by imagination from both sides, is essential for creating new emotionally resonant experiences.
The third challenge is evolving groovots into a highly versatile platform that allows anyone to intuitively create motion and visual expression. By addressing these challenges, we believe groovots can grow beyond a system for live performances and become a creative tool that supports a wide range of entertainment fields.
Creating the Future of Entertainment Together
In developing groovots, we deliberately chose not to set a fixed end goal. This is because the needs and challenges that emerge vary greatly depending on the form of entertainment and the context in which the technology is used.
For example, in live performances where everything unfolds in a single take, robots must be not only highly reliable, but also capable of responding appropriately to unexpected situations without interrupting the show. With limited time for setup and teardown, efficiency and safety are also essential. While these are challenges from an engineering and mechanical perspective, they are just as important from an operational standpoint, where video, audio, and stage elements must be seamlessly integrated. In this environment, having a partner who can manage these operations effectively and holistically is key to enabling new forms of expression with groovots.
From a creative perspective, it is also vital that the same software can be used for both development and operation, regardless of a robot’s size or form. groovots was designed from the outset with an emphasis on compatibility with general-purpose technologies, and we intend to continue refining this versatility as the system evolves.
groovots has succeeded in creating a new form of expression never seen before, in which multiple robots move autonomously across a stage. Even so, when it comes to introducing robotics technology into entertainment, we are still only at the beginning of the journey. To reach greater heights, we need input from creators who bring their visions and ideas of what they want to make to the table. By understanding their needs and discovering applications beyond what the development team alone might imagine, we believe that the potential of groovots will continue to expand, generating entirely new forms of value.
As we move toward a future in which the physical and virtual worlds are seamlessly integrated, delivering new experiences that surpass people’s imaginations will require a deep fusion of creativity and technology. As demonstrated by its success at the Nippon Budokan, groovots is one of the technologies making this future possible.
We will continue to evolve groovots so that whether you are creating the next live stage or experiencing an event as a member of the audience, you can encounter a moving experience unlike anything before.
如月千早武道館単独公演×「groovots」 Behind the Scenes - YouTube
Note: This content is in Japanese only. Please use YouTube’s auto translation feature when viewing.
