Disney has come a long way from what it used to be back in the day. It has very recently unveiled a futuristic Stuntronics robot. Disney Research has been working to make its robots more agile and interactive rather than simply looping a specific movement over and over again.
A prototype called Stickman was released by Disney back in May which was basically a mechanical stick with two degrees of freedom. The Stickman could be flicked into the air where it used an array of sensors to tuck and roll in midair, perform a couple of backflips before unfurling for landing.
That sounds impressive in itself but it was basically just a stick. The project has now evolved into the Stuntronics robot that seems much more man-like. It is designed to be a kind of a robot that acts as a stunt double for a human actor and can perform aerial stunts using sensors like an accelerometer, gyroscope array, and laser range finding.
The Stuntronics can also strike a heroic pose in the air before landing back on its feet. Speaking to TechCrunch, Disney Research scientists said that during a stage show or ride, other animatronics or human actors could perform the up-close, static scenes, before the Stuntronics robot is wheeled out when the character needs to fly.
You can check out the impressive Disney robot in the video below:
