Universal Patents Could Let Animatronics Walk Beside Guests

A couple of weeks ago, two Universal patents landed within days of each other. Taken together, they solve two halves of the same problem: how do you get an animatronic to walk or glide right next to a guest, at guest level, without the illusion falling apart the moment someone looks down at its feet? Thanks, as always, to Aahs n Oohs for tracking down these patents for us!

The patent that lets a figure walk

The first patent describes an animatronic figure whose torso rides on a vertical boom that can extend, retract, and tilt. Its feet, meanwhile, are connected to magnets that slide along tracks or are connected to arms hidden beneath the platform. Move the magnets, and the feet get pulled along with them. Raise or angle the boom, and the torso rises, leans, or crouches accordingly. The legs don’t need motors. The joints move passively in response to where the boom and magnets put the body and feet, respectively.

The patent’s own drawings even show the figure’s feet on what look like roller skates. That suggests Universal has specifically been thinking through how to make a figure glide smoothly across a floor rather than take mechanical, stiff-legged steps. With the right combination of boom movement and magnet tracking, though, it seems just as capable of producing something that reads as an actual walk cycle.

The patent that makes it look smooth

The second patent is more of a behind-the-scenes fix than a new visible trick. It equips an animatronic with sensors that monitor vibration at several points on its body. Those sensors feed the data into a physics model, which calculates small corrections in real time.

In simple terms, the system removes animatronic wobble or jitter.

On its own, this patent won’t inspire a new scene or ride concept. What it does is make the first patent’s walking-and-sliding trick look convincingly smooth instead of twitchy. That matters quite a bit if a figure is close enough for guests to actually scrutinize its movements.

Why this combination matters

Together, these two patents solve something Universal’s animatronics have never quite managed: a figure that can walk or glide directly at guest level, feet fully visible. Currently, they need to be elevated above viewers’ heads so the walking mechanism remains hidden.

Victoria’s Monster in the Monsters Unchained preshow is a great example of how Universal currently accomplishes walking. He is elevated far above guests. And while we see his legs lift and move, and even see a bit of his shoe, we can’t get a good look at the actual movement of his feet. A figure that can roll or slide across the floor right in front of you with feet you can actually see would create a brand new kind of “wow” moment.

This could be used for a Bride of Frankenstein animatronic on a Creature from the Black Lagoon ride. She greets you in the swamp, rising to her feet from a moldy log. A boom attached to her torso provides the movement. She then walks alongside the boat at the start of your ride or on a preshow. The first patent shows drawings of a cloak that could hide the boom. That would be perfect for the flowing gown of the Bride!

Beyond that specific ride, I could see this technology working for animatronic Pokémon walking alongside ride vehicles. Or for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and other Wizarding World characters greeting and guiding riders on the rumored broom coaster said to be in development for a Ministry of Magic expansion. Any scene where a character needs to feel like it’s walking in the room with you, rather than performing from a stage above you, seems like fair game!

While we don’t know where these patents might truly be used, I’m excited by the possible interactions these new technologies might create. Only Universal knows if and where they may be used, and until then, we continue to wait and watch.

Visit our patent hub for more greatness that may – or may not – be coming to Universal and Disney theme parks.