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Disney to Create Walking Animatronic Dinosaur
nakhla writes "I came across this article discussing Disney's plans to create an animatronic dinosaur that can roam free through it's Disney's California Adventure park. Disney's Imagineering unit has been working on the technology for several years now. While short on technical details, the article does mention that it will be able to interact with guests in numerous ways. Hopefully it won't go berzerk like the animatronic characters in that old Simpsons episode!" No, hopefully it will go berzerk!
Nobody exploits technology to hoover money out of your wallet any better than the Mouse.
"I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating. And in fourteen days, I had lost exactly two weeks. Joe E. Lewis
Hopefully they will finally get around to re-animating uncle Walt.
after what happened in Jurassic Park and they still wanna try it
Smile... tomorrow will be worse.
"This will be the first test of untethered Audio-Animatronics and the next phase in Imagineering's quest to increase interaction with visitors."
Will it eat pesky visitors ?
Then let them tear Jeff Goldblum to pieces. Yeah, that'd be cool.
Need to make some Animatronic Japanese tourists to run in front of it screaming!
We all know what happens when you try to build free-range animatronic robots. Regardless of their safeguards, they go nuts and kill people. It's all documented in this film. Which, incidentally, is what the Simpsons episode is a parody of.
There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
That's the magic," Sklar said. "When people see, hear and touch this character, it will be a real groundbreaking experience."
The character doesn't talk, but can respond with movements. Some of its potential antics are eating popcorn, "stealing" a guest's hat and sneezing. [...]
Disney chose a dinosaur because children are so fascinated with them, Sklar said, plus "it's a large enough character to get their attention."
Some visitors will scream "THIEF!!" Others will scream "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! IT'S GODZILLA!"
It is indeed a groundbreaking experience. Go Disney go! Scatter thine visitors... :-)
--
Error 500: Internal sig error
This could be VERY dangerous. The first time a six year old who doesn't know any better puts his hand in the mouth of the dinosaur, and the gears in it cut his hand off, Disney is slapped with a $500 million dollar lawsuit, and you won't see these things ever again.
What would be really sweet is if they could hook up some really enormous piledriver-like devices all over the park and synchronize them falling with the steps of the anamatron. That way it would have that hyper-realistic whole-earth-shuddering effect during each footfall.
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The Slashdot crowd spends most of their time bitching about the copyright escapades of the Disney corporation, but you cannot forget that they are a world leader in robotics applications. If you ever want to see some awesome electronics, watch the Travel Channel's behind the scenes shows some times; they show the maintenance side of the parks, and how much "small" stuff is going on (audio systems & minor mechanicals) that you don't always consciously notice.
Besides, in a battle of the (mega-)corporations, I'd root for Disney to beat Sony any time... Disney just has that knack for making their toys visually pleasing & fun to use. Plus, I've always wanted a pet dinosaur, and if we can't genetically engineer one ala Jurassic Park, might as well go for the next best substitute (and robots don't pee on your carpets)
Strom Thurmond to be fitted with prosthetic walking aids.
Moo
An as-yet unnamed dinosaur (Tyrannosaurus, of course - is there any other kind?) will begin roaming (rampaging) through a designated area ("Bloodbath Town") of either California Adventure or Disneyland this spring, said Marty Sklar, vice chairman of Imagineering. This will be the first test of untethered (unfettered) Audio-Animatronics and the next phase in Imagineering's quest to increase interaction (exterminate) with visitors.
Disney created Audio-Animatronic figures and has used them in attractions since 1963, beginning with birds in the Enchanted Tiki Room (and they all look like what they really are - stupid moving dolls). But this will be the first one that's not fixed to a spot (cause the engineers got sick of doing that boring shit). An unseen operator (HAHAHA!! You will NEVER catch ME!!!) will guide the dinosaur's movements, allowing it to respond (chase) to guests (and eat them).
"That's the magic," Sklar said. "When people see, hear and touch (and get fragged by) this character, it will be a real groundbreaking experience (not to mention a real blast for the guys who get to run it and stomp on all those drooling rugrats who infest the park)."
The character doesn't talk (hey, six-inch teeth - who needs to talk? Just smile!), but can respond with movements ("slam jaws together over lawyer's head"... oops, wrong movie). Some of its potential antics are eating popcorn (sorry, I meant "people"), "stealing" a guest's hat (and the head under it) and sneezing (gotta get the blood of its snout somehow, right?).
Imagineers have long dreamed about walking Animatronics, but it took technology a while to catch up with their creative minds (yeah, getting them to walk and chew at the same time is a bitch).
> Hopefully it won't go berzerk like the animatronic
> characters in that old Simpsons episode!
This was blatant rip off of the 1973 movie West World, which is a movie you should see. IMDB has the info about it.
It's really a quintessential 'robots gone mad' kind of movie.
-- There is no sig line, only Zuul.
Especially when it roams around the park, bonking people over the head with blunt objects and yelling, "Not the Mama!"
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
then it'll be the plague. Then... Electric Negroes running amok at the behest of an amoral AI with a master plan for world domination.
Matt Ruff was right! Disney is the root of all evil.
All we need now is Meisterbrau.
(if you get the reference... you're as sad an pathetic as I am)
-- kwashiorkor --
Leaps in Logic
should not be confused with
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John Hammond: All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked.
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but John, if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.
I'm so glad Disney will be filling in the 'malfunctioning attraction consumes tourists' void that has been present in their theme parks.
Let's all cross our fingers and hope they program the t-rex with a taste for laywers!
~Philly
As cool as this could be, the entire thing sounds unfeasable from a legal standpoint. Just imagining the size, the potential power of the mechanics, and the chance for error, the possibility it gets cracked, and do on, I can't imagine this actually getting done.
.
Besides, imagine the headlines of "Mechanical Dinosaur Falls On Top of Family of Three Due to Faulty Programming" . .
"The Sage treasures Unity and measures all things by it" - Lao Tzu
Wait until those model numbers reach T-100, then we'll need to call in Linda Hamilton to clean up the mess.
Rich
The world's most expensive Turok level!!!
Yes, and that is how most 2 legged robots work. Its just that.
1. A bit more complicated.
2. Some kid can easily shove it over (they can probably shove this four legged thing over too, but it would require much more effort I would imagine)
3. 2 Legged dinosaur.. hmm raptor? Cool!
OK, mix in the ingredients:
in a voice that sounds destinctly like Yul Brynner.. You answer "no" and the lizard says, "I'm going to eat you, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
They spent all that time and effort when all they had to do was google on MPAA
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Yet through the context you were still able to understand what he meant. Amazing!
Without your slueth decoding skills and strict grammar enforcement we all might have read that as "through it is california adventure park".
Please oh please don't color it purple and make it walk around singing.. I would be forced to defend myself with a large baseball bat.
Hmm... actually that might be fun..
- This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along, move along..
"When people see, hear and touch this character, it will be a real groundbreaking experience."
So they plan on making this sucker pretty big, eh?
"And like that
I don't want it to be in the park. I don't want it to be where the creative people work. I want it to be in the Disney legal department, and where the managers who pay Fritz Hollings hang out.
-Rob
So in other words... you should probably wash the butter and salt residue off your fingers before putting your hands near its face.
If my rats (deemed some of the smarter rodents) can't figure out the difference between a food-coated finger and actual food... I'm not about to trust some disney AI!
The only thing I can thing of is....
WestWorld, where nothing can go wrong
go wrong
go wrong
go wrong
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Disney to Create Walking Animatronic Dinosaur to Crush Your Fair Use Rights. ;)
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I saw a prototype of this about a year ago on the discovery channel, or maybe it was their website. None the less, this thing was huge, dwarfing an SUV and it had fluid movements - similar to the impressive way the honda robot moves - except that it looked like it could use a SUV as a soccer ball. This thing looked incredibly scarey when it turned and walked towards the camera. Terminator 3 comes to mind when remembering it. Oh! I found it. HERE IS THE LINK and check out the video too!!!
Disney is now lobbying to retroactively extend copyright laws to cover the dinosaurs. Although dinosaurs have fallen into the public domain, Disney believes that their new copyright on them will lead to greater innovation in the field of reptiles. After all, who else is creating Dinosaurs(TM) any more?
An insider at Disney has leaked the fact that the Dinosaurs(TM) are part of a copyright army that will be used to enforce Disney's intellectual property claims. Lawerence Lessig beware...if you see a Dinoasur(TM)...run!
I can just see it now:
Robot dinosaur kicked by snotty kids - or better yet chased down as part of the "Jurasic Park" exhibit, and said robot yelling out:
"Why was I programmed to feel pain?"
Later - the Wild Wild West robotic set:
Again with Prof. Frink at the helm of a Giant steam powered spider:
"Oh-hoy! With the stepping and the squishing and the webs made of NYLONNNN!!"
My apologies to Simpsons fans everywhere, but I'm beginning to wonder if the Imagineers are spending too much time watching the Simpsons, or have a stash of "Imagination" that the Feds would like to know about.
-When going for broke, go for Ithaca!
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Moderation points to go to Frisky
I haven't seen a 5 year old kid yet who wasn't scared of Mickey Mouse the first time they saw him "in person". This "attraction" will have them sitting in the corner rocking back and forth all night saying "Can't sleep, monster will get me. Can't sleep, monster will get me".
There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
Personally I can't wait to drive my heavily armed and armoured fusion powered battlemech to work. The SUV monkeys would never cut ME off again!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
But maybe you're right -- it's more important to be correct than to be civil; After all the slashdot mantra is to flaunt your ego by being an uptight stick in the ass right down to the finest detail.
This is featured in Wired (most current issue) as well as a rather interesting atricle about the folks @ Disney Imagineering.
--- You are unique, just like everyone else...
The big problem will be keeping it from stepping on somebody. They'll probably stick to a static tripod walk (3 feet on the ground at all times, and the CG kept over the ground contact triangle). They'll need redundant sensors in the feet capable of detecting foreign objects, like small children. Then they can just do a freeze (motion stops, but control system remains active) if there's something in the way.
Oh wait...that's already taken by Battleship Galactica in the future...or was that in the past...OH it must have been in the past, 'cause Erin Moran isn't a babe any more.. Beede Beede beede!
For some reason, when I read that I couldn't help think of some old 50's science fiction movie where they'd be calling in the Flying Wing to take out the monster.
As someone else already pointed out: it's ``berserk'' and not ``berzerk''. Maybe you were thinking of an old record label. :-)
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
Yeah...I hope they have a vacuum cleaner built-in that thing, 'cause a walking dinosaur that surprises kids is likely to cause quite a few "accidents" from the terrified kid's part, if you know what I mean...
That's the magic," Sklar said. "When people see, hear and touch this character, it will be a real groundbreaking experience.
And possibly a real bone breaking experience...
Some of its potential antics are eating popcorn, "stealing" a guest's hat and sneezing.
"Here's your hat back sir...filled to the brim with soggy pop-corn! Have a nice day!"
The first Animatronic figures, called A-4s, could turn and open their mouths to be synchronized with music. The next phase, called A-100s, had more real-life movement and were used in Pirates of the Caribbean and "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" at Disneyland, where the figure stands and talks to the audience. But none have been able to directly interact with visitors.
The latest, free-roaming 4 legged animatronics will be called AT-ATs, and are covered in a thick armour that even ground-based blasters cannot penetrate. They also sing and dance!
Disney chose a dinosaur because children are so fascinated with them, Sklar said, plus "it's a large enough character to get their attention."
Other possible uses for the robotic dinosaur will be raiding p2p user's homes, Jack Valenti only has to say the word. Disney is currently cooperating with DARPA to create the next generation cuddly animatronics, wich will also serve as a mobile launcher for ground-to-air missiles. Children are expected to be delighted.
You can't take the sky from me...
Manassas, ~50 miles west of Washington DC, was the site of two major Civil War engagements known as the Battles of Bull Run by Yankees more familiar with a nearby creek. Imagine the Animatronic possibilities (discussion from a NPS history) mindful of the real historic horror (this article doesn't even mention their proposal of a slave auction):
Beware of Fake Monkey Automatons
No. Beware of Fake Dinosaur Automatons.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Troody, MIT's robot dinosaur, mentioned on Slashdot a year and a half ago. The head researcher, Peter Dilworth, said he was going to market talking, human-size versions to theme parks. Guess Disney went off on their own.
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If they worked with the guys at RealDoll they'd have the mots successful park in the history of the world. At least with lonely men and computer geeks.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
I had a very scary experience at Disney in California a few years ago. I went on the "It's a Small World" Ride and the music didn't work. As if the ride doesn't already look like a shooting range when the music is on. You could hear the gears turning, the crazy robotic gestures and the boat bumping the underwater rails. It was like disney hell.
Another side note however, I would think that they could design this robot to be harmless. Example: give it no sharp edges, make the dino. shuffle its feet instead of taking big steps. If Disney makes this Dino. it is going to be the NERF BALL equivelant of the dinosaur world.
I don't keep a lid on my coffee so when I walk around I look busy -me
Just as long as they keep Whoopi Goldberg away from it, I'll be ok.
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
I don't think that even Disney could pull off a biped. Mabye the could have a T. rex use its tail, but my bet is a protoceratops. They look enough like a triceretops to be familiar, but don't have all those horns to get in the way of customer interaction.
But they might surprise us with a less familiar animal. A Maiasaurus would be so cuddly as to destroy the effect of having a dinosaur in the first place, but there are pleny of cool looking obscure things that they could use.
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-- Multics
During a recent visit to DizzyWorld in Orlando (we were actually in town for a conference), my wife and I came across what was the absolute highlight of the day (to my eyes, anyway). Some genius in (I'm assuming) "Imagineering" had fitted a standard park trash can out with an RC receiver, short-range RF voice transceiver (full duplex, I think), steerable drive system, and a set of batteries. The gear was all (most likely) buried in the bottom of the thing to give it a nice, low center of gravity.
Its operator was hiding out a few hundred feet away, on an upper balcony (I spotted the tip of his transmitter's antenna when he moved), and was rolling the thing around and doing some good-natured remote harassment of the visitors. At one point, he rolled the thing along next to someone in one of those electric whoosh-carts, and said "Hey, lady... Keep it under 45, Okay?"
What made it even funnier was that there were a couple of kids in the area, chasing the thing all over the place, going nuts trying to figure out how it worked (the operator, wisely, never let it stay in one place for too long).
That kind of thing is just plain silly. Quality silly. That's hard to come by. This full-blown dinosaur of theirs sounds just plain tacky. That, unfortunately, is all too easy to come by.
I guess what I'm wondering is; Why bother? The entire Orlando park is one huge, ongoing, live-action commercial already. Don't think so? Name me another park where every single ride exits either through, or in proximity to, a similarly-themed gift shop.
Anyway, why blow all that money on something that is most likely going to be murder to maintain, in terms of both time and finances, and that is unlikely to fool any child over the age of, say, four? Why not spend it instead on some real exhibits for their "Animal Kingdom" (Lord, what a joke that was!) park, and at least contribute to the zoological field instead of just making a token appearance of doing so?
Did I mention that the both of us had to keep suppressing an urge to yell out "ANGEL DUST!" during the part of the DizzyWorld parade where the crowd is cued to yell "pixie dust?"
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
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