Disney’s research arm is developing robots and animatronic characters, capable of walking and moving exactly as they would in animated movies and TV shows.

Advances in robotics and animatronics means Disney’s popular animated characters could soon be joining the famous theme park parade not as a human in a costume or as a robot stuck to a float, but rather a seemingly living, breathing animated character powered by robotics down to the last minute detail.

“Our goal is to bring animation characters to life in the real world,” said Disney Research Pittsburgh’s Seungmoon Song. “We present a bipedal robot that looks like and walks like an animation character. Starting from animation data of a character walking, we developed a bipedal robot which corresponds to the lower part of the character following its kinematic structure.”

To create the movement style, parts are 3D-printed and joints are actuated by servo motors, angled and positioned to help recreate the right movement. Using trajectory optimisation technology, the research team generated an open-loop walking trajectory designed to mimic the character’s walking motion. The team then perfected the walking motion on the developed hardware system, so that the robot could walk without falling over.