Disney has started testing real-life droids in Disneyland – but why stop there? Here are 7 more sci-fi inventions we’d like to get working on pronto…
Someone at Disney Imagineering must really like Westworld. The company has sent out videos showing off their latest innovation: real robots set loose to interact with guests at Disneyland’s Star Wars-themed Galaxy’s Edge. Take a look:
“The robots actually learn to imitate artistic motion — that’s the secret sauce to make them work so quickly. They can actually emote and learn to dance,” Moritz Bächer, associate lab director at Disney Research, said. “They can get really angry, and the eyes turn red. They walk over uneven terrain. They can still balance. They’re really robust.”
R&D Imagineer Joel Peavy said the droids are in something called “play test” mode at the moment, but once a bit more data comes through, they could change that pretty quickly.
Well, that all sounds marvelous – sign us up! In fact, it’s given us a few ideas of our own… Here’re 7 more sci-fi inventions we’d love to make their way into the real world:
Minority Report – The Precrime Programme
“Bah, crime. It’s rubbish, isn’t it? There absolutely needs to be a way to stop it. Before it happens, ideally. Those magical VR computers would be a nice touch, but what we’re really worried about is stopping crime. I say we plug Samantha Morton into a goo puddle and see what happens. What could possibly go wrong?”
Jurassic Park – Jurassic Park
“We were so preoccupied with whether we could recreate all the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park, we didn’t stop to hear Jeff Goldblum finishing the rest of his quote. We’re sure it all ends well, though. And we bet a Triceratops is really cute in real life.”
Read more: Jurassic Park | The simple genius behind its low-tech, most expensive effects shot
Godzilla vs Kong – Mecha Godzilla
“Look, I’ve seen this one, and I know what you’re thinking. But we don’t have a real Godzilla in our world, so what could possibly… Yes, I might have had a little nap at the end, but I think I got the… What do you mean, city-destroying rampage?”
The Fly – The Telepods
“Thank you for agreeing to test our new teleporter – sorry about the smell, we’ve had the bug spray out again. These bin strikes, am I right? Pretty sure we got them all though, now if you could just step into this pod…”
The Hunger Games – The Arena
“We’re not stupid, you know. Obviously, The Hunger Games would be bad. But a constantly changing pseudo-natural environment filled with deadly traps and biologically engineered creatures? That sounds really cool. No, I can’t think of any applications for it beyond televised murder sport, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Build first, ask questions later, alright?”
Dune – Colonialism
“Part Two’s been delayed a few months, so we can get a head start on this one. I was chatting to an old man in a pub the other day, and he had a lot of nice things to say about empires. And their one has space forcefields and awesome knife fights. How about we give that a go? We’re sure it’ll end well.”
Hot Tub Time Machine – The Hot Tub
“If I’m honest, I’m really quite tired after all this inventing. I’m not even arsed about the time travel – I’ve got a chalky mango thing from Lush, and I’m not coming out. Call me when we’ve finished the plans for the Death Star that sinister bloke keeps going on about.”
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