Disney fanatics can now look forward to a future where they can interact with their beloved animated movie characters as scientists develop "reel-like" robots.
Walt Disney's think tank Disney Research just published a paper that spills details about the bipedal robot the company is working on.
The androids will quench people's thirst for social interaction with their favorite movie characters.
"Creating robots that embody animation characters in the real world is highly demanded in the entertainment industry because such robots would allow people to physically interact with characters that they have only seen in films or TV," three Disney Research scientists Seungmoon Song, Joohyung Kim, and Katsu Yamane explained in the thesis.
One of the key problems developers have encountered in the project is re-designing the animated characters. Initially made for television alone, the cartoons didn't have an inherent physical infrastructure.
"The main challenge of this project comes from the fact that the original animation character and its motions are not designed considering physical constraints," the three wrote.
"Moreover, the walking motions in animation are generated with key frames that artists crafted, which is not physically realizable. In other words, if we just playback the walking motion in the animation on a real robot, it will fall down."
Clearly, the project is still in the early stage of incubation, but people are starting to imagine what this robotics experiment promises.
Engadget associate editor Mariella Moon predicts that this project will replace the Disneyland mascots in the future.
"Folks working as Disneyland mascots may want to start looking into possible employment opportunities for the future," she said.
In an article posted on The Stir by CafeMom, parenting blogger Caroline Olney said that she is excited about Disney's new venture and thinks that the kids would love the idea too.
"Kids love seeing their princesses and princes in real life, so what's not to love about seeing their animated friends, too?"
"We'd like to meet Stitch first, please. And then Olaf. Then Mike Wazowski."
