AI-Powered Animatronics

Characters with
character.

Squawk Works builds intelligent animatronic characters with real personality — custom designed, voiced, and brought to life for your space and your audience.

Find Your Fit ↓ See It In Action
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Custom Character Design
Live AI Conversations
Fully Custom Characters
Museums · Events · Hospitality
NYC-Based, Worldwide Deployment

What Makes Us Different

Not a robot.
A character.

Every character is custom built — designed, voiced, and animated specifically for your space and your guests.

Otto the robot and a fox character performing under theatrical lighting
01

Custom Personality Design

Every character has a unique voice and personality, written specifically for your brand and your audience. No off-the-shelf scripts.

02

Real AI Conversations

Characters can hold natural conversations powered by AI — no canned loops, no repetitive scripts.

03

Stylized by Design

We deliberately avoid uncanny humanoid robots. Our characters are charm-forward and stylized — built to delight, not disturb.

04

One Platform, Many Forms

The same intelligence stack runs a museum kiosk, a live puppet theater, or a full venue host — purpose-built characters, unified technology.

Services & Products

What We Build

From a one-night rental to a permanent installation — every format of intelligent character experience.

Four Wayward Toy Theater animatronic characters performing together

Live Entertainment

Wayward Toy Theater

Four AI-powered animatronic characters perform audience-driven improv shows. Audiences of up to 40 people co-create a story in real time — part Mad Libs, part living theater.

Affordable event pricing Book →
Otto, a custom interactive robot character

Permanent Installation

Interactive Info Characters

Intelligent animatronic guides for museums, zoos, airports, and science centers. Answers questions, shares directions, displays QR codes — infinitely more engaging than a sign.

Custom quote based on scope Inquire →
Close-up of a custom red-haired animatronic host character

Hospitality & Venues

Venue Characters & Hosts

Permanent animatronic hosts for restaurants, arcades, hotels, and theme parks. They greet guests, tell jokes, manage wait lists, and add personality to every visit.

Custom quote based on scope Inquire →
Audience members watching four animatronic characters at a live event

Brand Activations

Trade Show & Event Characters

The world's most attention-getting pitch person. A custom animatronic loaded with deep product knowledge, ready to hold court at your convention booth or brand activation.

Flexible rental pricing Book →
Two colorful parrot characters posed as a live commentary duo

Event Entertainment

Live Commentary Duo

Two animatronic characters in a podcast-style setup, riffing on your event in real time — weddings, festivals, conferences. People can't stop watching, and they can't stop laughing.

Affordable event pricing Book →
Squawk Works team member designing a custom installation in 3D

Custom Build

Custom Installations

Full-stack design and fabrication for theme parks, escape rooms, experiential retail, and large venues. We build the characters, write the intelligence, and own the whole experience.

Quote upon scope Talk to Us →

Find Your Fit

Not sure where to start?

Answer two quick questions and we'll show you the right path.

What kind of experience are you creating?

🏛️ Permanent Venue A fixed location that needs an always-on character presence
🎪 Events & Activations A specific show, festival, trade show, or brand moment
⚙️ Something Custom A unique vision that needs a full design & build partnership

The Process

From idea to opening night

01

Discovery & Design

We start by understanding your space, your audience, and your goals. We design the character's personality, appearance, and knowledge from scratch — built specifically for your brand and guests.

02

Fabrication & Programming

Our team builds the physical character while our AI platform is trained on your content — your products, your stories, your guests. Hardware and software tested together before delivery.

03

Deploy & Evolve

We install, train your team, and stay connected. Characters update remotely, learn from interactions, and get smarter over time. We provide ongoing support and can expand the experience as you grow.

Portfolio

Proof of concept.

We've been building and shipping intelligent animatronics before most people knew it was possible.

Custom robotic game character illuminated in red and blue

Case Study

— The Interactive Brand Ambassador

Built for a major gaming publisher as a fully autonomous AI character. This character held live conversations with event attendees, engaged visitors across a full-day activation, and generated real-time responses about an upsomeing game built from the character's in-game personality — all without any human puppeteer behind the scenes. When a puppeteer was available, they could wear a motion tracking headset we developed to move the character's body, hear, speak, and sound like the character in real time.

AI Conversations Live Event Brand Activation Custom Fabrication Cloud Inference
Multi-Day
Live Activation
100%
Autonomous Operation
V2.0
Currently in Development
Commission Something Similar →
Squawk Works team members collaborating in the workshop
Built by hand, engineered together
Audience members reacting to a Wayward Toy Theater performance
Live audiences, real reactions
Illuminated sheep animatronic character on a display platform
Characters designed from scratch

Who We Serve

Built for any audience.

Every industry has guests who deserve something more memorable than a screen or a sign.

🏛️

Museums & Science Centers

Replace static placards with living characters that answer follow-up questions and adapt to every visitor.

Tier 1 Priority
🎡

Theme Parks & Attractions

Queue-line characters, ride greeters, and interactive zones that make the wait part of the fun.

High Value
🍽️

Restaurants & Hospitality

Hosts that greet guests warmly, manage wait lists, and turn every visit into a story worth telling.

Recurring Revenue
🎭

Events & Festivals

Theatrical puppet shows, live commentary duos, and roaming characters that make your event unforgettable.

Quick to Deploy
🏢

Corporate & Trade Shows

The smartest, most attention-getting booth ambassador in the hall — and it never gets tired.

High ROI
🔐

Escape Rooms & Location Based Entertainment

Characters that react to player choices and escalate tension dynamically in real time.

In Development
✈️

Airports & Transit Hubs

Wayfinding characters that answer questions about gates, services, and local culture with personality.

Large Scale
🦒

Zoos & Aquariums

Animal-themed guides that teach facts, answer kids' questions, and make education genuinely delightful.

High Engagement

Get In Touch

Let's build something remarkable.

Whether you have a fully-formed brief or just a spark of an idea, we want to hear it. We'll tell you honestly what's possible — and what it would cost.

💬

Free Discovery Call

30 minutes to explore your vision. No pressure, no pitch — just a genuine conversation.

⚡

Fast Feasibility Assessment

We'll give you a straight answer on scope and budget within 48 hours of your brief.

🔒

NDA Available on Request

We take IP seriously. If your concept is sensitive, we'll sign before we talk.

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