Back in the 60s, the theme park and entertainment world was changed forever thanks to Disney's
creation of audio animatronics.
Since then, the company has been innovating non-stop, and they have been making their
creations better.
The industry has evolved with the creation of autonomatronics, stuntronics, and most
recently, a free-roaming animatronic.
Today, we'll be exploring the most advanced Disney animatronics up to date!
Spiderman Stuntronic
Back in 2018, Disney started doing research to be able to create a robot that could mimic
the impressive acrobatic techniques that human performers could do.
They created Stickman, a simple two degree of freedom robot that uses a gravity-driven
pendulum launch and produces a variety of somersaulting stunts.
This robot could successfully perform several different somersaulting stunts by changing
initial orientation and the timing of tuck, release, and untuck.
Of course, Disney did not release any more info at the time about how or when this robot
was going to be used, but we all found this new tech very impressive, and we couldn't
wait to find out.
A few months later, Disney released even more info about this project.
And this is when they started talking about Stuntronics.
Stuntronics are autonomous, self-correcting aerial performers that make on-the-go corrections
to nail high-flying stunts every time.
So basically, this animatronic can perform amazing stunts that would be too dangerous
for an ordinary stunt person to do, or at least do on a regular basis.
The bot is able to be slung from the end of a wire to fly through the air, controlling
its pose, rotation, and center of mass to not only land aerial tricks correctly but
to do them on target while holding heroic poses in midair.
Fast forward to 2019's D23 Expo, where during the Parks panel, Disney announced lots of
new details for the new Avengers Campus land that would be opening at California Adventure.
This, of course, led fans to start speculating if the new animatronic would be used for this
land and in what way.
And then, in February of 2020, the answer came.
Disney announced that guests visiting Avengers Campus at DCA would be able to catch a glimpse
of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man himself swinging above the rooftops of Avengers Campus.
Disney also released the first video footage of the gravity-defying Spider-bot.
The video, which you can see here, shows the same stuntronic that we had seen before, but
now wearing the SpiderMan suit and blowing all of our minds!
This animatronic looks amazing, and we can only guess that seeing it in person will make
it even more impressive.
Avengers Campus was set to open back on July 18th, 2020, but of course, that didn't happen.
Thankfully, a new date has been set, and it is closer than we think.
The new land is opening on June 4th of this year, and hopefully, we'll get to see this
stuntronic in full swing!
Groot Project Kiwi
A few weeks ago, Disney Parks had a private press event where they officially announced
the new opening date for Avengers Campus.
But among the things that Disney showed during this event was a short video where guests
could see a walking Groot animatronic.
Everyone was amazed when they saw this new animatronic roaming freely and having such
fluid movements, and many sites talked about it, but just a few days later, Disney fully
revealed Project Kiwi.
Project Kiwi was started three years ago, and the main reason for this project was to
bring smaller characters to life at their actual scale in authentic ways.
This new animatronic prototype is pretty similar to the Boston Dynamics robots.
Groot is able to more or less roam free, with the only connection to anything being a small
cable used for programming.
During the video, we can see him walking free and even standing on one foot.
Beneath the amusing façade, and that hugely uncanny smile, lies an excruciatingly complex
frame with some exciting cooling solutions.
So complex are the parts, in fact, that milling or casting just wouldn't cut it.
Industrial printers had to be employed to create the intricate armatures housing the
bot's critical components.
And the frame is actually hollow, featuring what Imagineers are calling a "marrow conduit"
for optimal, skeletal airflow.
This small-scale, free-roaming robotic actor can take on the role of similarly-sized characters.
While only in an early exploration stage, a prototype in the form of Groot is being
used to test unique traits, gaits, and capabilities.
There are no immediate plans to bring Project Kiwi to the parks because, according to Walt
Disney Imagineering, there is still lots of work to do to perfect these types of animatronics,
but this is such an impressive achievement.
And it's just another reason that proves that Disney is still leading the entertainment
industry!
Realistic gaze animatronic
If you think that the stuntronic was the only new tech that Disney has been developing,
you will be very impressed with this new form of animatronic.
This new type of animatronic uses a chest-mounted sensor to identify people so the robot can
turn to face and engage with them.
A series of smaller motions allow the highly animated and articulated robot to create the
illusion of life.
The animatronic's head rises and falls subtly to simulate breathing.
Quick, darting eye movements by the animatronic create the illusion of examining a person's
entire face.
It can also momentarily shift its gaze in reaction to a sudden sound in the distance
before refocusing on a person's face.
This is being developed because the gaze has been shown to be a key social signal, shaping
perceptions of interaction partners.
For example, people who make more eye contact with us are perceived to be similar to us
as well as more intelligent, conscientious, sincere and trustworthy.
Furthermore, gaze appears to also convey complex social and emotional states.
So that means that having those subtle eyes and head movements could allow character animatronics
to engage in more lifelike human-robot interactions.
The next-gen animatronics with the lifelike gaze are not expected to appear in Disney
theme parks for several years.
But we seriously can't wait until they do!
We would love to see this tech applied to some character meet and greets.
Just imagine being able to meet Mushu or Grogu with the use of one of these new impressive
animatronics!
But tell us, what do you think about this new technology?
Is it a great addition to the already remarkable animatronics that Disney creates, or do you
think this will make them creepier?
Let us know in the comments!
A100 animatronics
In 1989 Walt Disney Imagineering debuted the first a-100 Audio-Animatronic, the Wicked
Witch of the West.
This animatronic was used in the Great Movie ride and was one of the scariest animatronics
created by Disney at the time.
This was because this new range of animatronics was capable of moving like a human thanks
to a system of joints in addition to having variable speeds.
All this was controlled by hydraulics and Pneumatic actuators.
To program just a second of movement for these animatronics, it takes about 8 hours of work.
This new development of animatronics was created thanks to a collaboration between Disney and
Sarcos, and this technology is only usable by Disney under an exclusive license.
After the Wicked Witch was created, Disney began creating and replacing many of their
animatronics with a100s.
Some examples of these animatronics are the Jack Sparrow animatronics at the Pirates of
the Caribbean ride or the Barbossa animatronic at the ride in Disneyland Paris.
And there have been plenty of variations of them, such as the Ross animatronic in the
"Monsters Inc: Mike and Sulley to the rescue!" ride at California Adventure, which is actually
an interactive animatronic that works thanks to pre-recorded phrases that an operator secretly
activates.
Or the fantastic and terrifying Lava Monster at Tokyo DisneySea.
The next development on these animatronics came in 2009 when Disney presented a first
glimpse of the new Abraham Lincoln figure that would be the main attraction in the returning
"The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" show.
The new, advanced figure featured Disney's most sophisticated Audio-Animatronics technology
at the time, with incredibly lifelike facial features and expressions.
The new, fully electric head allowed Imagineers to add new technology and functionality to
the figure.
The previous Lincoln head and face had seven functions, and the new and improved head and
face have a total of 20 functions.
Lincoln can now purse his lips, smile, grimace, and form an "O" with his lips.
Imagineers also reformulated the AA skin so that light would better reflect in all directions,
as it does with real skin.
Then in 2013, Disney Imagineers presented a new project called Sky.
This was an a100 animatronic, very similar to Starnack, that was able to interact with
people, catch and even juggle with balls.
This technology was experimental, and to date, it has not been developed within a Disney
park.
However, this would not be the end for the development of the a100, which brings us to
our next point.
A-1000 animatronics
Now we've come to an end.
The most advanced animatronics, the A-1000.
These animatronics are the most advanced in the world.
They were created by expert Imagineers from various disciplines such as show design, plastics
development, figure finishing, and show programming.
The goal of the A1000 program was to create a family of standardized electric figures
that provides more control and design repeatability for both build and maintenance purposes.
So Disney pioneered proprietary software programs that provide predictive renderings and pre-visualization
that assist in everything from seeing how a figure moves in a costume to predicting
when components need replacing.
But the ultimate goal is to get as close to a life-like performance as possible.
As we said before, the A100 animatronics work with hydraulic motors to power their life-like
movements.
Then we saw a transition to all-electric animatronics that makes for a much smoother movement with
the arrival of the Shaman and the Frozen animatronics.
Now, these new A1000 animatronics not only take advantage of the electric components,
but they also use thin motors called "pancake" motors to achieve their precise, fluid, and
realistic movements.
The first A1000 animatronic that Disney unveiled was Hondo Onaka.
This animatronic is the most advanced audio-animatronics at any Disney Park.
He has 51 total functions, including ten in his head alone—a big evolution from its
A1 ancestor.
He also has a speaker in his chest to provide directional sound, and there's a bend in his
knee, creating the illusion that Hondo can walk.
This animatronic can be found at Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run in Galaxy's Edge at
Disneyland and Hollywood Studios.
But Hondo is not the only A1000 that we can find at Galaxy's Edge.
In Rise of the Resistance, we can find two other A1000 animatronics: Lieutenant Beck
and Kylo Ren.
Then last year, The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast opened at Tokyo Disneyland,
and this new ride is chock full of incredible animatronics, including Belle and The Prince
dancing.
These animatronics are so impressive.
You can see them dancing and even moving around and lifting their feet!
The movement looks so fluid and real, and they're so beautiful.
Imagineers did an outstanding job creating all of these animatronics.
Their movements, expressions, and design are awe-inspiring.
With this new technology, Imagineers can create lots of incredible animatronics for future
rides and even meet and greets!
Which character would you like to see brought to life this way?
We hope that we can get to see Rapunzel and Flynn Rider in the newest Tangled ride!
A100+ Animatronics
And we arrived at the most advanced A-100 animatronic: The Shaman of Songs.
To create this animatronic, Imagineers had to create 20 new technological developments
to improve the technology of the A-100.
They practically began from scratch.
The project was a challenge not only due to the great amount of movement and fluidity
that Imagineers wanted the animatronic to have but also because of the scale and level
of detail of the same.
The main difference between the A100 and A100 plus animatronics is the transition from hydraulics
to fully electric components and motors.
Shaman of Songs has 42 degrees of head freedom and endless facial expressions.
This animatronic is designed with swappable arms and head for flexibility in maintenance.
Another advantage of this animatronic is that all the movement data was made thanks to a
motion capture, which is really a technological advance compared to the 8 hours of programming
per second that the original a100 animatronics needed.
These new A100 plus animatronics were also used for the Frozen Ever After ride.
We can see the fluid and impressive movements of the characters.
The only problem that we find with these particular animatronics is that the faces and, of course,
expressions were replaced by projection screens.
While this is a little bit disappointing, it does not take away from how impressive
and fluid these animatronics are.
Cars Animatronics
We've talked many times before about the rough start of California Adventure.
One of the things that saved this park was the addition of Carsland!
This amazing land opened back in 2012, and it brought with it one of the best attractions
that Disney had ever created at the time: Radiator Springs Racers.
This incredible E-ticket attraction combines high-speed outdoor thrills with indoor dark
ride scenes to create impossible settings, breathless wonder, and the best part: more
than 20 Audio-Animatronics that defy logic in their lifelike expression and movement.
Almost every Radiator Springs resident you can think of has come to life in the form
of full-sized animatronics.
These animatronics bounce, drive, blink and talk through some of the most sophisticated
and fluid motions Disney Imagineering had ever created at the time.
One of the things that makes these animatronics so impressive is that Imagineers were able
to take the charisma that we see in the characters on screen and bring it to life perfectly on
these animatronics.
The way the cars move is fantastic!
So, of course, Radiator Springs Racers became one of the best rides at the Disneyland Resort.
Now, this is not the only place where we can find a Lightning Mcqueen animatronic.
Over at Hollywood Studios, we have Lightning Mcqueen's Racing Academy, which opened on
March 31st, 2019, as part of the park's 30th-anniversary celebration.
During the 10-minute show, guests take on the role of rookie racer as they enter the
theater and find themselves face-to-face with an awesome Lightning McQueen animatronic.
This animatronic is absolutely incredible.
He talks, blinks, bounces on his tires, spins; it seems like he came straight out of Cars
3!
All in all, the experience is really fun, and fans of the Cars franchise will enjoy
it.
Many of our favorite characters appear during the show, but this attraction wouldn't be
anything if it weren't for the state-of-the-art animatronic Mcqueen!
It is rumored that this experience is temporary, but who knows.
If you get a chance to experience it, you should do it!
What do you guys think?
Which is your favorite Disney animatronic and which do you think is the most impressive?
Let us know in the comments!
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See you next week!