How humanoid robots could transform the entertainment industry
An interview with Chris Batchelor, Humanoid Robotics Sales Manager, at Extend Robotics
Humanoid robots are beginning to create new possibilities for how audiences experience entertainment, from interactive brand activations and live events to hospitality, museums and permanent visitor attractions. While much of the conversation around humanoid robotics focuses on automation, productivity and industrial applications, the entertainment industry presents a different opportunity: using robots to create memorable experiences that engage audiences, encourage social sharing and give businesses a new way to stand out.
For Chris Batchelor, Humanoid Sales Manager at Extend Robotics, the future of humanoid robots in entertainment lies firmly in the public eye. Rather than focusing primarily on replacing existing roles or reducing operational costs, he sees the greatest potential in creating experiences that bring people together, encourage interaction and make venues worth talking about.
In this interview, Chris shares his perspective on where humanoid robot development is heading, the entertainment applications showing the greatest commercial potential, and why businesses should be considering how this technology could become part of their experiential offering.
Why entertainment offers a different opportunity
Humanoid robotics is often discussed in the context of manufacturing, logistics and industrial automation, where performance is typically measured through precision, reliability, uptime and cost per task. Entertainment, however, offers a different set of priorities.
According to Chris, the value of a humanoid robot in entertainment is not necessarily determined by whether it replaces an existing process. Instead, its ability to create a memorable moment can be the primary measure of success.
"In entertainment, the robot doesn't need to replace anything; it just needs to create a moment worth remembering and sharing."
This distinction helps explain why live events, brand activations and hospitality are attracting interest. A humanoid robot can become part of the experience itself, providing something that audiences can see, interact with and share.
According to ROLLER's 2025 Attractions Pulse Report, (a software insight company), 78% of UK guests identified a great past experience as the top reason they would revisit an attraction. The finding highlights the relationship between visitor satisfaction and repeat attendance, reinforcing the importance of creating experiences that audiences remember positively.
For entertainment venues exploring humanoid robotics, the opportunity is not simply to attract attention on the day, but to create an interaction that visitors remember, share and may want to experience again.
Chris believes the biggest opportunities over the next three to five years will be in live, in-person spectacle venues, with applications including performances, meet-and-greets and guided experiences. What currently appears as a one-off activation could increasingly develop into permanent installations in hotels, attractions and entertainment venues.
"Rather than just for a launch event," he anticipates, humanoids could become part of everyday guest experiences.
From one-off activations to permanent installations
Live events and brand activations are currently the strongest commercial category in Chris's experience. Trade shows, product launches and festivals provide businesses with opportunities to use humanoid robots in high-visibility environments, where the emphasis is on creating impact and attracting attention.
These applications are particularly suited to businesses that already invest in marketing-led events and experiential activities. Venues, agencies and hospitality groups may be comfortable commissioning entertainment on a project basis, rather than treating a humanoid robot exclusively as a capital equipment purchase.
This distinction influences how Extend Robotics positions its offering.
"We quote these as a performance service, not a hire of equipment," Chris explains.
The service can include pre-event uploading of client-specific information and messaging, predetermined gestures or dance routines, and an engineer on site for setup. The client is therefore booking a defined experience, in a similar way to booking a performer.
This service-led approach creates a potential route for businesses that want to explore humanoid technology without necessarily committing to permanent ownership of a robot.
Hospitality and visitor attractions
Hospitality is another area where Chris sees growing potential, particularly in hotels and venues looking for a distinctive guest experience.
He describes a humanoid positioned in a hotel lobby or reception area as a welcome experience, rather than a replacement for check-in staff. The robot could give arriving guests something to interact with, photograph and share while they wait.
The same principle could extend to visitor attractions, theme parks and museums, where the robot itself becomes part of the attraction.
Museums and science centres could use humanoids as guides that combine movement and story telling, accompanying visitors between exhibits while explaining what they are seeing. In science centres, the robot could also serve as an exhibit in its own right, supporting the venue's educational objectives.
Turning visitors from spectators into participants
One of the most significant opportunities for humanoid robots is their ability to change the nature of audience interaction.
Traditional exhibits, displays and performances often place visitors in the role of spectators. Humanoid robots could introduce more direct and personalised experiences, allowing people to approach a robot, ask questions and receive a response.
Chris believes this shift could move visitors from passive observation to active participation.
"Instead of watching a show or reading a plaque, a visitor can walk up, speak to a robot, get a response, and walk away with a video of an interaction that was genuinely theirs."
And this is important. According to Mckinsey, the global management consultancy firm, in their article titled “The value of getting personalization right – or wrong – is multiplying”, 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions. McKinsey also found that 76% of consumers become frustrated when personalised interactions are absent.
The potential value for humanoids therefore lies in creating an experience that feels personal, rather than simply presenting the same content to every visitor. For venues and brands, these interactions could also provide opportunities for social media content, word-of-mouth recommendations and increased visitor engagement.
Personalised storytelling and multilingual interaction
A humanoid robot that can maintain a conversation in multiple languages, respond to questions and remain in character could offer a different experience from a fixed audio guide or scripted animatronic.
Chris sees the ability to adapt interactions to individual visitors as an important part of the proposition. Rather than requiring the visitor to follow a predetermined script, the story could respond to what they actually say.
This could create opportunities for character-based experiences, interactive storytelling and multilingual engagement across a variety of visitor settings.
The development of new forms of physical entertainment
Humanoid robots may not simply replicate existing forms of entertainment. One of the most interesting possibilities lies in synchronised group performance.
The potential for multiple humanoid platforms to maintain close formation, allowing choreographers to develop robot ensembles capable of precise synchronised movement.
Chris says, "That combination of physically present, perfectly synchronised, and mobile, is genuinely new."
This creates a potential intersection between robotics, performance and live demonstrations. Unlike a screen-based digital character or static imagery, a mobile humanoid ensemble could physically move through an audience environment while delivering coordinated routines.
The implications could extend to brand activations, live shows, festivals and other performance-led environments.
The development of more natural movement is also important. While a humanoid's appearance contributes to the audience's perception, Chris believes movement is the more influential factor in creating engagement. A natural walk, responsive head movement and believable gestures can help audiences respond to the robot in a way that feels more human.
"Audiences forgive a robot for looking mechanical," he explains. "What genuinely impresses people is fluid, human-like motion."
As humanoid platforms continue to develop, improvements in mobility, coordination and interaction could therefore expand the range of experiences that entertainment businesses can offer.
Where the commercial opportunity lies today
While the long-term possibilities are broad, Chris emphasises the importance of focusing on practical, repeatable applications that can be delivered today.
These include:
Greeting and welcoming guests.
Structured meet-and-greet interactions.
Guided walkthroughs with narration.
Choreographed solo performances.
Synchronised group performances.
Brand-specific interactions at events and activations.
The emphasis is on applications that can operate within a defined design, without requiring the robot to improvise beyond its capabilities.
This is particularly relevant for entertainment venues, where audience safety, predictable performance and consistent delivery are essential considerations.
Measuring return on investment
For businesses considering a humanoid robot, Chris recommends looking beyond traditional labour-cost comparisons. In entertainment, the more relevant comparison is with marketing and experiential activation spend.
"The comparison should be: what would it cost to generate the same volume of social content, press coverage and footfall through a traditional campaign or experiential build?"
This approach positions the robot as an experience and marketing asset rather than simply a piece of equipment. For a one-off event, businesses could compare the cost and impact of a humanoid performance with other forms of experiential activation. For permanent installations, the assessment could focus on sustained visitor engagement, dwell time and repeat visits.
Chris identifies engagement and customer experience as the primary commercial drivers, with potential revenue benefits arising indirectly through footfall, dwell time and word of mouth. Cost reduction, he argues, is generally less relevant as the primary investment rationale in visitor-facing entertainment than it is in industrial applications.
Working alongside people, not replacing them
Despite the interest in automation, Chris sees humanoid robots in entertainment as a complement to human employees rather than a substitute for them.
The robot can attract visitors and create an engaging moment, while staff remain responsible for activities requiring judgement, empathy and flexibility. A practical deployment might involve a robot operating at a welcome point, photo moment or scheduled performance station, with human employees managing the broader guest experience.
There may also be opportunities to reduce the burden of repetitive front-of-house interactions. A robot could repeat the same greeting or guided walkthrough without losing energy, allowing employees to focus on visitors who require more tailored assistance. This is not the primary reason perhaps that a venue would invest, however this is an important supporting benefit alongside the others.
This human-centric approach reflects the distinction between using robotics to enhance an experience and using it to replace the people responsible for delivering that experience.
The next five years
Looking ahead, Chris expects humanoid robots to become an increasingly established part of the entertainment landscape.
His vision is of a market where venues book a robot in much the same way they might book a performer, photo booth or AV package. The technology would become part of the available experiential toolkit, rather than being treated solely as a novelty.
This shift could have implications for how entertainment agencies, hospitality groups, venues and brands plan their activations. Businesses may increasingly consider humanoids when developing visitor experiences, launch events and campaigns designed to generate audience engagement. At the same time, the technology will need to demonstrate reliable performance, appropriate safety measures and commercial value in the environments where it is deployed.
For Chris, there is an opportunity for businesses to establish an early presence in this emerging space.
"The venues and brands adopting this now are the ones being written about as innovators, and that reputational advantage gets harder to claim once the technology is commonplace."
The observation highlights the role of timing in experiential innovation. Businesses exploring humanoid robots today may be able to test new formats, understand audience responses and develop practical experience before the technology becomes more widely integrated into entertainment offerings.
The development of humanoid robotics in entertainment is not simply about bringing automation into existing venues. It opens up questions about how audiences interact with physical technology, how brands create memorable experiences and how businesses can differentiate themselves in increasingly competitive markets.
From synchronised performances and interactive storytelling to hospitality welcome experiences and event activations, the potential applications span both established entertainment formats and new forms of engagement.
Chris Batchelor's perspective places the audience at the centre of this development. The commercial opportunity is not necessarily to automate the entire visitor experience, but to introduce a new type of interaction that complements human-led hospitality and entertainment.
As humanoid platforms continue to develop, the businesses exploring these opportunities will need to consider how the technology aligns with their audiences, operational environments and commercial objectives. The future of humanoid robots in entertainment may ultimately be defined not by what tasks they can replace, but by the experiences they can help create.
