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THINK of Disney and you may conjure up images of sometimes saccharine animated films and enchantingly unreal theme parks. What probably doesn鈥檛 spring to mind is a huge research organisation. Yet the firm鈥檚 science and technology has thrilled, enthralled and spooked generations of children and adults.
Disney calls its researchers 鈥渋magineers鈥� and its California-based research team the Imagineering department, hence the titles of new Disney+ documentary series The Imagineering Story and book Magic Journey: My fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering career by Kevin Rafferty.
Throughout its history, the Imagineering department has registered more than 300 patents. In 2019 alone, it was granted 74.
It invented the first daily operating monorail system in the US, installed at Disneyland in California in 1959, the world鈥檚 first audio-animatronic figures in 1963 and the world鈥檚 first computer-controlled thrill ride, in the form of Disney World鈥檚 Space Mountain in 1975. The team also put together the world鈥檚 first radio frequency identification wristbands to act as payment and queueing systems in 2014.
鈥淲e do have big tech chops,鈥� Jon Snoddy, who leads the 3000-strong Imagineering team, told 快猫短视频. The team鈥檚 ethos, though, is that its work should go under the radar, he says. 鈥淲e鈥檒l often hire someone with a PhD in physics and tell them: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to do some of the most amazing work you鈥檒l do in your entire career, and if people notice it, we鈥檝e failed.'鈥�
When Rafferty, who rose over his career to become executive creative director in the Imagineering department, joined Walt Disney, there was a sign in the department that simply said: 鈥淟ead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.鈥�
鈥淎n animatronic robot is flung from a trebuchet before moving mid-air in a way reminiscent of Spider-Man鈥�
The firm is a significant contributor to academic research papers as well. Disney Research, the company鈥檚 academic-facing branch, has submitted 20 papers to major academic conferences since the start of 2019.
One of the final episodes of The Imagineering Story looks at the future. It shows a life-sized animatronic robot being flung from a trebuchet before moving mid-air in a way eerily reminiscent of Spider-Man, a character from the Marvel superhero universe that Disney bought in 2009.
The project, developed under the name 鈥淪tuntronics鈥�, was the result of three years鈥� work by a team of 15, and will be used in the new Avengers Campus at the Disney California Adventure Park, due to reopen in July. The flying robot is a breathtaking moment.
Other innovations the team is working on include artificial intelligence-controlled animatronics to interact with park guests in character and augmented reality glasses to provide unique experiences for riders on roller coasters.
鈥淲e also have a whole pipeline of stuff that鈥檚 hard to describe,鈥� says Snoddy. 鈥淲e live for the moment when the audience look at something and don鈥檛 have words to describe it because they鈥檝e never seen anything like it.鈥�
