Over the past decades, Disney has developed and presented impressive animatronics. From early pneumatic models to recent electronic wonders, these animatronics bring a layer of realism to its attractions and screen projects. The next step for this entertainment giant is to eliminate the static component of animatronics and let them fly through the air in the form of Stuntronics, which could replace stunt doubles in the future.
A brief history of Audio-Animatronics
The history of animatronics began in 1961, when Walt Disney coined the term Audio-Animatronics. Three years later, he would register it as a trademark, but his original designs debuted at Disneyland in 1963 with the pneumatic birds of the Enchanted Tiki Room.
The 1964 World's Fair welcomed animatronics with open arms, and Mary Poppins was the first film to use them (the scene is A Spoonful of Sugar).
54 years later, animatronics have reached an extraordinary level of realism. One of the most striking examples is Shaman Na'vi in the World of Avatar attraction (video below), which does far more than we could expect from an animatronic. However, Disney Research engineers feel that there is a disconnect between the main characters of their franchises and their robotic versions…
The Stuntronics project
That disconnect led them to create the Stuntronics project, a concept of a stunt double for animatronics that will take their place in more aggressive and risky situations. As we can see in the video, the robot can adjust its position, center of mass, and final pose mid-flight using a combination of gyroscope, accelerometer, and laser positioning. The first version of the animatronic was known as BRICK, basically a metal block with electronic components inside that could modify its center of mass. This led to Stickman, a more articulated variant that added orientation and rotation control. The latest edition almost flies like a superhero.
The future of Stuntronics
One of the uses that engineers envision for Stuntronics is during the intermediate shows of the attractions. Calmer and more static scenes will remain in the hands of traditional animatronics, but in more active and explosive passages, these robots could jump and fly with ease, never failing in their landings. Personally, I think it's a matter of time before these robots end up in front of a green screen replacing actors and stunt doubles of flesh and blood. Many agents will breathe a sigh of relief...
