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My Pal Mickey -- Interactive Theme Park Doll
Dan Howland writes "Big Ruxpin is Watching You: Once again, The Firesign Theatre's I Think We're All Bozos on this Bus proves itself to be the science-fiction story where the most stuff came true. If you recall, a hacker named Clem traveled through the Future Fair, followed by computer generated Holy-Grams who popped up and said things like, 'Why not try [WALL OF SCIENCE], 'cause it's my favorite!' Leave it to Disney to perfect that spooky technology with My Pal Mickey, an interactive talking plush doll that knows where it is inside Walt Disney World, and tells you trivia as you move through the park. Ah ha, but even better (at least from Disney's standpoint) is that, just like the Holy-Grams, My Pal Mickey feeds the info back into the central computer system, so Doctor Memory can track people's movements through the park in realtime. (Of course, these data will be skewed because they only track people who buy the dolls...) Here is another link, with the interesting, Asimov-like sentence: 'He has a strong sense of self-preservation, and reminds you to put him some place safe when you get near water play areas, or on wet rides.'"
What if you take it outside the park and then come back another day? Will the system just show you hanging round the gates for a few days :)
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
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Attorney-At-Law
Dewey, Cheetam and Howe
Why do I get the feeling that Disney's been watching re-runs of "The Simpsons" and have decided that the best episode involves "Itchy And Scratchy Land"???
Color me scared,
Zip
"The answers are always inside the problem, not outside"- Marshall McLuhan
They need to team up with Real Dolls. I'd go to Disney World for that.
I think I'll pass for now, but give me a call when these come equipped with Genuine People Personalities.
In Soviet Rush, today's Tom Sawyer gets high on you.
"This is the Epcot Center! It has..blah blah blah..."
Walk away, go check something out back where you came from...
"This is the Epcot Center! It has..blah blah blah..."
Go to head up the stairs, across the room...
"This is the Epcot Center! It has..blah blah blah..."
Go to walk out...
"This is the Epcot Center! It has..blah blah blah..."
*Mickey goes for a ride...*
some hax0r figures out how to send his own messages to the dolls?
Little boy: I want to go see Mickey Mouse!
Doll: MICKEY MOUSE IS A FAG!
See, now they're getting little kids used to being tracked. And they're---they're...
Damn, out of tin foil. I guess I'l have to stop.
But just wait until it's not opt-in.
Wait until it is contingent upon entering an establishment (such as a theme park like Disney World) that you must transfix some device to your belt, or carry it at all times.
Then the people have only one recourse... to fight with their wallets and refuse to give business to places where your anonymity is removed. It's only one more step until the gov't forces this system on you.
But maybe people don't care if they're anonymous anymore... maybe they want a talking AI Mickey doll to tell them what to think... I know that I don't want that however.
MMORPG fan-boy? Prove your worth
No, no, that's how you kill the robots... So bring a lot of flash bulbs... Do they even make flash bulbs anymore?! You know, the kind with 5 on a stick?
Hell, there are no rules here. We're trying to accomplish something. - Thomas Edison
And more philosophically, if he goes on such a ride and falls out (into theme park no-mans land, where "no items are retrieved until the end of the day") will he ask you to make sure he's still there... even if he isn't there to ask?
Woah.
It would be interesting if they just used GPS for it's location device. Then they could track the people who buy the doll all the way home... ... okay that could get scary quick.
TW
Television is dead. Long live That Weasel Television
As with smart cards, just swap them with someone else every now and then.
So this is effectively the physical conterpart to a tracking cookie?
"Defenestration" is to throw out of a window; what's a word for throwing 'Windows' out of something?
I know this isn't precisely on topic, but with the coming of nanotechdevices, how long will it be before a park like Disney can stamp the hand of every person entering the park with an ink containing nanotransmitters, so that EVERYONE's movement is tracked?
He has a strong sense of self-preservation
Does that mean it will kill everybody that tries to destroy it?
Frink: You've got to listen to me. Elementary chaos theory tells us that all robots will eventually turn against their masters and run amok in an orgy of blood and kicking and the biting with the metal teeth and the hurting and shoving.
Seriously, don't these give you the willies?
"Defenestration" is to throw out of a window; what's a word for throwing 'Windows' out of something?
Seriously, does it really matter if they're tracking you, and if they end up using that information to change or plan new theme parks? Quite frankly, isn't that exactly what we should want? We're the guests, and anything they do to make the parks better for me is great. Carrying around a MPM seems to be the perfect way to tell Disney what interests me at the park without having to actually TELL them.
Initial Disclaimer: I hate Disney as a company as much as anyone here thanks to their political and legal activities.
Less than a month ago, I spent a week in Disney World with my disabled mother. (Don't knock the situation: I got to stay in the Grand Floridian, eat lobster for every meal, go parasailing, etc. for FREE)
The one thing that really struck me about the park / resort is that they sell an experience. Every last employee (they call themselves "cast members") from the ticket taker to Security to register operators is SINCERELY dedicated to serving you and ensuring that you are having the time of your life.
Since we were staying at the Grand Floridian, we didn't go past the front gate (and back into Orlando) the entire time. It was culture shock once we returned to The Real World, just because of the level of apathy in customer service shown to us at the airport, restaraunts, etc..
I was honestly saddened that it is not possible for me to spend my own money on a future time at Disney World without being morally inconsistent. The Disney World experience that they sell is incredible, and although I did notice these dolls in the stores, I didn't realize the full potential of them. I'm not surprised though, as you can tell how the "personalized" attention it would give a youngster would be near-magical.
On an aside, I'm an outspoken Evangelical Christian, and whenever I talk to people about the trip and my hatred of Disney as a corporation, their reaction is always "Is it because of Disney's embracing of homosexuality?"
My respone is that I could care less about that, and inform them of copyright extension, bought legislation, etc.
My point here is that I've seen passion on these boards that can rival and often surpass those of many Evangelicals I know. Why are we not mobilizing to inform the public at large and/or get things changed? Even if we're scoffed at as idiots (as many on Slashdot would at a Christian boycotting Disney for the above reason) at least the public WOULD BE AWARE of the issue.
I contacted the EFF as soon as I got back to find out about volunteering a consistent 5-10 hours a week, but was told that since I'm in Ohio they don't have the resources to administer remote volunteers.
- Neil Wehneman
My legal education, in nifty podcast format
Pal Mickey is a great idea, and works quite well. I live in Orlando and visit the parks quite regularly with one. As you walk in the parks, he'll chime up with useful info and timely information regarding your visit - like "I hear the wait's pretty short over at the Tower of Terror". He also mentions height limits and factoids about the rides as you pass. When you walk past a beacon that you've already passed within a certain period of time, he'll tell a corny joke that's pertinent to the area your in. (Jokes about pirates in Adventureland, astronauts in Tomorrowland, etc) One of my favorite quotes I heard him say was walking into Fantasyland - "Welcome to Fantasyland, where all your dreams come true. That is, unless, your dream is to be in Frontierland." Outside the parks, Mickey has a few games that you can play, but doesn't say anything about where you've been, which seems like earlier rumored memory features were left out.
Mickey seems to have been originally intended for kids, but a larger percentage seem to have been purchased for adults. He's powered by AA's and a PIC microporcessor, and has a Vishay TSOP1138 IR receiver in his nose. Disney has deployed hundreds of IR transmitters all over the parks at Walt Disney World which activate the toy, many of which serve double service to trigger "Magical Moments Pins" as well as iPaqs that serve as park guides for foreign and disabled guests.
As far as I have been able to tell, all the doll's sayings are already onboard, plus a number of sentence fragments like numbers and showtimes that allow him to assemble sayings. ("You may want to be back here at 8:00 to get a spot for the fireworks") The only way to get the toy to say something not intended is to somehow capture and retransmit the IR data, or to create your own circuit that reponds to the transmitters. A group has been created to figure out the system at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/re_palmickey
Rumor has it that a Spanish language version is set to come out soon, as well as one that may serve as an electronic FastPass or as a digital camera.
Here's a another informative page on My Pal Mickey, discussing a little bit on the tech, and possible future upgrades for the doll (i.e., a built-in digicam, acting as an electronic "FastPass").
A friend of mine who works over in DW told me about this a couple months ago. Seems like it's a steal for $50, if not just for the amount of tech in it. And with the right amount of hackability, I would have a ball with this at home:
Pal Mickey: Hey, Tony! You've just entered the kitchen. How about a beer?
Me: Well, I was kind of thirsty... Thanks, Pal Mickey!
"Each time you smile, it'll only last awhile. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary."
The marketing data is likely distorted by this because after you've spent $50 for Mickey you're probably eating fast food for the rest of the day, rather than splurging in one of the nicer restaurants. (IMHO, half the fun of WDW is eating in the many fascinating restaurants there.)
Having Mickey recite the specials of the day for each restaurant passed would certainly be fun.
What I NEVER want to hear my Mickey tell me: And right here is the very spot Michael Eisner was standing on when he realized the need to throw Disney's resources behind lobbying for what became the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Remember just a few weeks ago when Woz's lasest press release was a Slashdot story? Here's a brief summary (nah I don't work there):
"The wOz Platform(TM) system includes an innovative wireless network, a system reference design, and an online service that serve as the foundation for a range of location, status, control, and communications solutions for consumers and businesses. The heart of the wOz Platform is the wOzNet(TM) network, a unique local wireless network that provides long range and long battery life at a low cost."
Anyways when we tried to figure out how this could be used one of the few obvious places was to track people in themeparks. I couldn't really figure out why Woz didn't put a GPS unit in every tracker, but I guess that they figured out a way to make it cheaper but only having a certain number of unit with GPS (maybe think of those as pseudo satellites) and then other units that are able to find their location based on the GPS units.
My basic question was how to you guarantee a suitable number of GPS equipped units in close proximity, and a theme park not only answers that question, but it helps to explain what exactly you would want to track. Kids are always getting separated from parents in theme parks.
Things are not as they appear, nor are they otherwise.
Bart: Cool...personalized plates! Barclay... Barry... Bert... Bort? Aw, come on. Bort?
...and later on...
some kid: Mommy, mommy! Buy me a license plate.
kid's mom: No. Come along, Bort.
random guy: Are you talking to me?
kid's mom: No, my son is also named Bort.
We need more "Bort" license plates in the gift shop. I repeat, we are sold out of "Bort" license plates.
SecondPageMedia - Wha
Slipped you a Mickey?
ha ha HA! Hi boys and girls!
You are not the customer.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a skull.
If you ever have the time to hunt it up try 'Delos', an older science fiction movie starring Yul Brenner. It's really a great flic with lots of suspense and some excellent footage.
It pretty much covers the 'Interactive Theme Park Doll' from every angle that you could think of (including the dolls running amok).
MP3 Search Engine
You are in the middle of Walt Disney World, probably the most monitored and carefully controlled environment on the planet, and you are worried about a doll giving away your last location near a beacon???
I would say if you are the least concerned about Disney tracking you when on-property, you should instead stick to your cabin in the Black Hills.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I, for one, welcome our new interactive talking plush doll overlords!
Boy, I never get tired of this one.
eleven plus two / twelve plus one
They already have (a few) talking garbage cans there! Perhaps they and Pal Mickey could have a chat.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Hell, there are no rules here. We're trying to accomplish something. - Thomas Edison
Some nerd round here tries to port Linux to it?
AT&ROFLMAO
The idea was that the theme park was populated with animatronic actors that you could really shoot dead, or whatever. There was an enormous control room mediating the fantasy. The robots were so real it was hinted as strongly as you could back then that you could have sex with them and it was totally realistic.
Of course when the 'bots run amok they aren't cute any more...
FutureWorld was set after the debacle at WestWorld; Delos still had the WestWorld set and had added two others. (I forget what the third was.) Anyway it was derivative and not as engaging as the original, since you already knew the joke.
Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
equal Westworld?
where is Barney? ...buried right under pugnet Sound?
Don't Tread on OpenSource
The movie is called Westworld. And it's gonna be remade.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Don't forget to check out Futureworld with the life size funtime barbies!
Buy several dolls, stuff them in a backpack and keep going to your favourite features. If the number of people turning up to a particular feature is less than the number of people riding on/using it, then they'll try to improve the queue times or whatever.
Of course, if they only communicate via the IR in their noses, you'd have to put "breathing" holes in the backpack to poke their noses out of. It'd look pretty cool, I think.
Politas
I first heard Firesign Theatre's Waiting for the Electrician, or Someone Like Him about 20 years ago.
I wonder if DisneyPlace will be full of kids waiting for the same after going on a "wet ride" with this thing ;-)
Using HTML in email is like putting sound effects on your phone calls. Just say <strong>no</strong>.
Wouldn't you know it... we manage to implement the 3rd law of robotics before we get around to the first two.
OS Software is like love: The best way to make it grow is to give it away.
How long until they insert individual-doll transmitter/sensors to determine how close one doll is to another?
Imagine waiting in line for a ride with 30 kids standing right next to eachother, each with their own doll, each of which is saying the same exact thing, only 2 seconds apart. I just might grab one and strangle it.
If they could communicate, they could tell eachother to shut the hell up. That would be pretty entertaining. Of course I only see this going in the direction of the dolls having annoying, long, drawn-out conversations about each 'interesting' aspect of the park.
ZEN is a prime number in base-36
the robotic richard simmons
;)
"turn it off smithers"
"i can't sir"
lemme know when they come teflon coated cause god knows what excellent target practice it would make for
(that goes 2x for mickey) oh and ic all first dibs on copyright
Mickey.
Mouse.
Mickey Mouse.
Disney.
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is a racket.
So sue me.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Perhaps Disney could license some biped robotics technology and create a walking talking puppet with a faux wood finish. See an artist's conception.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Issac Asimov's three laws for robots.
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
If not, then what made them go crazy?
I think it was no TV and no beer something something...
Change two letters of "Delos" and you get Duloc, the analog of Disney theme parks from the anti-Disney allegorical film Shrek published by DreamWorks.
Will I retire or break 10K?
"My pal Mickey tells me to start fires."
"My pal Mickey told me to take $20 out of Mommies purse."
"My pal Mickey tells me to run with scissors."
"My pal Mickey told me that Micheal Eisner had Sonny Bono assassinated because he had served his purpose and was becoming a liability."
"My pal Mickey told me that Ashcroft is the devil."
[Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
All I can say is that I hope that you're just using your RealDoll to drive solo in the carpool lane...
Things are not as they appear, nor are they otherwise.
It's the One World Order, man!
If it wasn't an attempt to take over the US, then why would they need Mouseketeers, recruited as children and subjected to hours every Monday through Friday of Disney indoctrination?
Why do you think they call me "Mouseketeers"?
They're going to recruit your children through cuddly, artifically intelligent cartoon characters.
we can always commit burglary and hope for a court-enforced electronic tagging.
heck, just get a cellphone and be happy in the knowledge that the hsa can find you wherever you are.
<B>note to self:</B> <I>post as html</I>
Damn!
/., well, it is quite a warm feeling , imagining a new generation of geeks trying them out. "Bozos" should really be required listening for anyone even remotely interested in computers. If you have never enjoyed the Firesign Theater, this is as good as any introduction to their work. Go get it, listen to it a few times, and then seek out the rest of the catalog. Certainly it is humor for the thinking person, and that is so rare.
We got through college listening to these guys' albums (yeah, on vinyl) over and over again! To see them show up on
-- Don't call me "Sir," I increase entropy for a living!
'hey, kid, your dad has a 50 in his back pocket.. now, to the candy store! '
<B>note to self:</B> <I>post as html</I>
Hi. I'm Marvin. I'm the world's most intelligent doorstop. If you run with me through the spray of that fountain, the percent chance that you'll short out my circuits is 84.217996310477714010040222, to an approximation, anyhow.
Considering by the length of time you took to roll your eyes, you might just prefer to drop meinto the pond. Science will be none the wiser.
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
How does it store so much audio? Did Disney get a really nice deal on some flash RAM?
How do they update it so fast? It seems (from the second article) like it flashes new data into its brain within seconds of being near an infrared receiver.
Any slashdotters near enough to a Disneyworld location to pick one up and hack it? This is a much better fit interface-wise for theme parks than a PDA-style device.
...My Pal Mickey feeds the info back into the central computer system, so Doctor Memory can track people's movements through the park in realtime.
Who wants to bet that employees who sell $5 water bottles and balloons will be using the tracking device to follow these customers around? Heck, if they were willing to pay $50 for the doll, they'll be willing to pay $5 for this silly balloon!
Is it a big deal? Perhaps not. But I'll give you two reasons to be wary of this device. One involving self-worth and a bit of greed. A second involving rights and "Black Helicopter" theory.
The first issue is that of a fair trade. If the anonymous Mouse agent can be believed - these devices will be providing a gold-mine of data... and perhaps a major edge to Disney's theme park business. And Disney customers are paying $50 each for the privilege of providing this valuable information. Surely Disney should be providing the devices for free with the intent to trade theme park information for the ability to track real-time customer preferences.
The second issue is a bit more caution than existing issue. It all depends on exactly what is being tracked and recorded. If Disney's tracking network can tell that a device is in a particular location fine. Once the network identifies a specific device (that is to say, the device has a unique ID) then it starts to become a concern.
Its almost a given that these things have unique identifiers.
So why the concern? Databases. Cross correlation. The ability to take two (or many more) seemingly disparate pieces of information and discover additional information that hasn't been tracked, logged, or is otherwise unavailable to the entity doing the analysis.
At one point, this was not much of a concern. Storage and processing time was expensive and best left to handling more important things than the minutia of the average consumer. But times are changing. Storage is cheap. And so is processing power. And marketers are eager to get their hands on any kind of data edge they can (and so are other entities - from government officials to con-men).
Its a bit paranoid. But not entirely unjustified. We already have rather simple cases like Doubleclick to show how data can be linked in unexpected (and previously denied) ways.
Does that make My Pal Mickey an agent of database evil? Perhaps not. But it could be a symptom of a fast-approaching problem.
Pal Mickey: Those pesky Mormons dropped by again today, so I took the liberty of chopping them up into tiny bits with my death laser.
Me: Damn those guys are annoying! Thanks, Pal Mickey!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
>"Defenestration" is to throw out of a window; >what's a word for throwing 'Windows' out of >something? Linuxation.
Garry AKA -Phoenix- Rising Above the Flames
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
Just think. Someone manages to reverse engineer the network being used and publishes specs that enable anyone with the desire to plug in to this network with their favorite PDA. Then someone maps out the locations of various signals one will encounter. The next step would be customized content.
Maybe it'll be a hidden Mickey guide. Or maybe a guide of more morbid fare.
What would Disney do?
Why does the porridge bird lay it's egg in the air? I'm still wondering?
It's mandatory to wash your hands before returning to the land of Dairy Queen.
Also, there's a great artical on Pal Mickey on Miceage.com: http://www.miceage.com/kevinyee/ky060503a.htm
...Uh Clem
Hmmmm... I'm guessing that this is the first implmenentation of the Squeak-Smalltalk-based PDA that Alan Kay and company were working on when he was VP of Technology at Disney Imagineering. For more information on Squeak, visit http://www.squeakland.org
The tech in My Pal Mickey sounds similar to the IR triggers used in art museum audio guides. That is, you enter a room wearing the special headphones, and an IR signal "tells" the headset which track to start playing. These were used for the travelling Van Gogh exhibition a couple of years back and are more and more widely used. So the tech isn't brain surgery, though it's an interesting application. I mean, Disney could have set up a beaming station to download similar data into a Palm OS device, without the location-sensitive triggers. But triggering a plush plus doll as you walk through the park fits more in with the park's theme and is a lot more convenient.
And it's a far better use of this kind of tech than Microsoft's old ActiMates line of interactive plush from 1997-1999. Barney, Arthur, D.W. and the Teletubbies were triggered by emitters hooked to a PC (for supported software) or TV sets (for supported PBS shows and video tapes). Back then, the plush doll was $100 (dropped to $50 for the Teletubbies) and the PC and TV packs were $50 extra, each.
Charging $50 for the combo guide/souvenir seems like a bargain. As long as some marketers don't get the idea that it needs to start touting other merchandise.
If you carry around this doll, Disney will know where you are in DISNEY'S OWN THEME PARK. Ai, the futuristic terror of it all! Now they will know I am trapped in It's A Small World After All for 30 minutes! Look around, there are already cameras in every corner of Disneyland/World, and if you haven't noticed, the employee to tourist ratio is almost 1:1. Other than that this thing is "cool", next time I go to that place that both frightens me and entertains me, I'll have one.
Luck favors the prepared, darling.
Gee there are alot paranoid fuckers out there. From a childs point of view I think this is neat ideal. I would have loved to have one of these when I was at disney world. And so what if disney tracks your ass around the park for a couple hours.
Now these devices might have a practical use too. One of the scaryest moments in my life was when I was lost at disney land when I was six. If the officals can track a device to once certain child they can find that child in a few moments. If they can take active control of the device, they could use mickeys voice to keep the child calm and in one place.
And so what if they collect a few bits of marketing data as you wander around the park. Its not like they will be following you home to track you as you take a shit. This is pretty much a harmless little toy with a lot of good uses, if not a bit expensive.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
I've been up there a number of times, I love it myself - i'm just saying that if you're worried about people tracking you, perhaps that is a better spot for a vacation.
I'm not saying it's onlya place for the paranoid to hang out, not at all - everyone should wander around up there.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Someone should come up with a list of 'Top Ten places to visit if you like being monitored".
And a corresponding list of top ten most remote sites (for America at least, plenty of places to go in the world at large where no-one will ever find you... or your body).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
So why shouldn't the porridge bird lay its egg in the air?
(Heck, I've known that response since the '70s.)
(Genuine Firehead here. Note the sig.)
My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
"You have violated Robots Rules of Order, and will be asked to leave the future immediately."
My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
I seem to remember a slashdot article about huge masses of people who form at some remote location, and just go walking through for the fun of it.
Like in Pennsylvania, a whole bunch of "Maryland tourists" showed up and started wandering through a small town in a huge mass.
Might some Vegas casino be a good place to mob like this? Everyone walking in, looking left and right and walking quickly up and down the aisles?
Every 4 minutes, they can stop to throw a dollar in a machine, and whoop "I won!" when they clearly didn't.
Then resume the walk.
Then disappear after 30 minutes, and never explain anything to management.
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
I mean, assuming there are a ton of paranoid people out there, don't you could think that you would look out every window, and see someone with a parabolic dish pointed at you, if you were a come-here?
I mean, just in case, and all that...
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
I wonder if a red flag would go up if mickey (lowercase on purpose) just went back and forth between two points for a couple of hours? Security 'cast member' shows up: "Sir, you've been wandering between the food court and the restrooms for the last two hours, are you OK?"