Thanks to a series of recently published patent applications, we now have an idea of where Walt Disney Imagineering is headed with future plans for night-time entertainment to take place over lagoons (which are specifically mentioned in the applications), although the technology can be applied virtually anywhere.
While ‘Fantasmic!’ at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well as Disney California Adventure’s ‘World of Color’ all use fountains to project virtual screens upon which images are projected, the patent applications find several faults, including the inability to quickly update the images for seasonal purposes and the height of the projected water screens is too limiting. In addition, fireworks are considered too unreliable when it comes to consistent performances.
The answer, according to Disney, is what they are calling ‘flixels,’ or ‘floating pixels’ (pixel itself is a combination of picture and element). By using an army of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), each carrying a payload such as a projection screen and/or light diffuser, the UAVs are either able to act on downloaded scripts, be controlled by a master, or autonomously work together to deliver an interactive image in three dimensional space.
This image, which features a massive Jack Skellington puppet, shows that there’s more up Disney’s sleeve when it comes to employing the drones. An additional patent application describes how the UAVs’ payloads could actually be a large marionette puppet, allowing UAVs to manipulate the puppet by working together.
The three published applications are as follows:
- Aerial Display System with Floating Pixels
- Aerial Display System with Floating Projection Screens
- Aerial Display System with Marionettes Articulated and Supported by Airborne Devices
All three are credited to by Clifford Wong, James Alexander Stark and Robert Scott Trowbridge. Interestingly enough, Trowbridge had previously worked on the ‘Flying Entertainment Vehicle’ patent /aka/ the Fantasyland dragon.
Source: Stitch Kingdom
Although I authored a few patents myself the system does not cease to surprise me.
I also have to say that I am a big fan of Disney Imagineering but how can this be patented by Disney considering previous work such as Spaxels by Ars Electronica Future Lab and even before that Firefly by MIT SENSEable City Laboratory?