Not long after Disney Research introduced their Stickman project, it seems as though the acrobatic robot has evolved significantly and could eventually be used to stand in for Marvel, Star Wars, or Disney characters in theme parks.
- As TechCrunch reports, Disney has been working on what it calls Stuntronics, which is seeking to build — as TechCrunch puts it — an “autonomous robot stunt double.”
- Currently the Stuntronics robot utilizes an accelerometer, gyroscope arrays, and more, allowing it to be flung through the air while maintaining a pose and aiming for a target.
- The apparent intent behind Stuntronics is to give Imagineers the ability to introduce characters into theme parks that can perform actions seen on film.
- Speaking to TechCrunch, Principal R&D Imagineer Tony Dohi said, “So what this is about is the realization we came to after seeing where our characters are going on screen, whether they be Star Wars characters, or Pixar characters, or Marvel characters or our own animation characters, is that they’re doing all these things that are really, really active. And so that becomes the expectation our park guests have that our characters are doing all these things on screen — but when it comes to our attractions, what are our animatronic figures doing? We realized we have kind of a disconnect here.”
- To show the evolution from Stickman to Stuntronic, TechCrunch also released an incredible video demoing the latest creation hitting what could almost be a pose struck by Vision in various MCU films:
What they’re saying:
- Tony Dohi on the prospects of Stuntronics: “We’re set up to do the really high-risk stuff that you don’t know is going to be successful or not, because you don’t know if there’s going to be a direct application of what you’re doing. But you just have a hunch that there might be something there, and they give us a long leash, and they let us explore the possibilities and the space around just an idea, which is really quite a privilege. It’s one of the reasons why I love this place.”