Ever since Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room opened in 1963, animatronics (automated puppetry that uses pre-recorded sounds and movements) has been entertaining people at amusement parks and in film. Thankfully, the technology behind this multidisciplinary machinery has improved exponentially since the days of stiff limbs and slow movements. No longer on the verge of the "uncanny valley" - that eerie place where a robot displays human qualities that are nearly, though not exactly, right - animatronics are blurring the line between fantasy and realism.
[More information: How Animatronics Works]
1. Face Cloning
Scientists at Disney's research labs in Zurich, Switzerland, recently unveiled their newest technique for making animatronics more life-like: cloning an actual human face. By using motion capture technology, scientists can make a three-dimensional scan of a person's face as the subject runs through various facial expressions like yawning and winking. They then catalogue every detail of that person's face - from facial hair to freckles - into a digital 3D rendering. That rendering is used to craft a precise skin replica by injecting liquid silicone into a 3D mould and allowing it to cure. This ‘mask' adheres to a motorized metal and plastic skull outfitted with points that show exactly where the skin should be placed. [More information]
2. Realistic Robot Eyes
Special effects builder Dan Thomson [of Visionary Effects] figured out how to make robotic eyes surprisingly realistic: by having the eyelids move slightly along with the eyes themselves. Thomson hand-paints his mechanical eyes to match every little detail of a human eye.The robot eyes contain precision aluminium parts operated by servo motors (small devices often used to operate radio control cars and airplanes) that allow them to move side to side and up and down, and blink at a realistic speed.
3. Gripping Hands
There was a time when the best animatronics did little but raise a hand. By adding the ability to grip, animatronics have become considerably more authentic, and creepy: The Mr. Potato Head at the Midway Mania Ride in Disneyland's California Adventure can actually remove his own ear. While there are a variety of robotic hands on the market, Custom Entertainment Solutions crafts one specifically for animatronics. Made of anodized aircraft aluminium, the MechaTE Robot Hand provides realistic motion through the use of 14 joints run on five servo motors. It even boasts four fingers and an opposable thumb.
4. Walking
Unlike animatronics, robots are typically built to respond to commands in real time as opposed to repetitively following a pre-programmed set of instructions. But the line between the two is often blurry, especially when it comes to things like locomotion. To create a more realistic animatronic, engineers and special-effects builders are often incorporating more versatile robotics. One example is Micromagic Systems' Hexapod, a six-leg walking animatronic robot created for the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While a puppeteer controls the Hexapod's overall behaviour, the bot is also fitted with computer software that controls its gait and movement. More recently, a group working out of Massachusetts' Artisan Asylum has begun working on Stompy, an open-source, 18 foot-wide, 4000-pound, six-legged rideable robot. Although it's technically a robot, Stompy will use hydraulic cylinders - a common way to operate animatronics.
5. Large Scale Animatronics
Over the past 50 years, animatronics have increased in scale from tiny hand-held birds to massive monsters needing multiple people to control them. The currently touring animatronic show “Walking with Dinosaurs - The Live Experience” [with video] features real-size dinosaurs; each one depends on both a driver who steers it from a chassis beneath its belly and two remote puppeteers - one to operate the facial features and sounds, and another to direct larger movements like the swinging of tails. These larger dinosaurs use hydraulic power to operate.
6. Autonomatronics
Another Disney feat, Autonomatronics give the machinery the ability to see, hear, and analyze. At Disney's 2009 D3 Expo, the company debuted Otto [watch video], an interactive animatronic that could sense when an audience member was smiling, determine whose smile was largest, and even converse with humans. Otto operates through a system of camera, microphone, and other sensors that feed it signals; the machine determines how to respond based on the data and complex control algorithms it is equipped with. Disney's Destini, an autonomatronic fortune teller who could chat with guests while reading fortunes, made her debut the following year.
do you sell any kit to build.. like eyes
ReplyDelete