Disney has upped its animatronics game with autonomous robot stunt doubles. Cinema’s human stunt double community is safe for the time being, as Disney plans to use this tech for robotic acrobatics overhead its theme parks.
Existing under the umbrella term of Stuntronics, the company released one of its prototypes, called Stickman, back in May. The early stick-shaped design has two degrees of freedom, and performs somersaults using a gravity-driven pendulum launch.
According to the paper, “Stickman: Towards a Human Scale Acrobatic Robot,” the robot’s onboard sensors can track velocity, height, and angle. Read the article to learn more about Disney’s simple, yet effective, prototype.
Although May wasn’t too long ago, Disney has made massive improvements. The outer shell looks considerably more human. The new version mimics superhero poses as it flies through the air, using onboard accelerometer and gyroscope arrays, according to Disney via TechCrunch.
Watch the Stuntronics evolution, to Stickman and beyond, in the Disney tweet below.