Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Günter D Niemeyer

David Loyal Christensen

Lanny Starkes Smoot

Morgan Thomas Pope

Steven E Christensen

Scott Frazier Watson

Mark Sox Setrakian

Anthony Paul Dohi

Grant Masaru Imahara

Quinn Smithwick

Alfredo Medina Ayala

Alexis Paul Wieland

James R Kennedy

Moritz Niklaus Bächer

Robert J Bristow

Lars Espen Knoop

Kyna P McIntosh

Richard-Alexandre Peloquin

Matthew Keith Xi-Jie Pan

Matthew K Pan

Sungjoon Choi

Vinay Chawda

Matthew A Estrada

Ali Utku Pehlivan

Daniel De Jesus Campos Zamora

A robot system with a robot configured for locomotion about a space using ground reaction force (GRF) to provide a first level of balancing. The robot system includes force generators located on or in the robot's body or offboard in the space that act to generate balancing forces to provide a second level of balancing for the robot using non-conventional physics. Clamping of a robot's feet to a support surface is provided whenever the feet are in contact with the support surface using electromagnets in the feet and a layer of ferrous material on the support surface or using mechanical coupling techniques to temporarily anchor the foot to the support surface. A balance controller processes output of balance sensors and responds by generating control signals to operate force generators onboard the robot such as electric fans or inertial reaction wheels.

Robots with robust bipedal locomotion supported with non-conventional physics

Systems and corresponding control methods providing a ballistic robot that flies on a trajectory after being released (e.g., in non-powered flight as a ballistic body) from a launch mechanism. The ballistic robot is adapted to control its position and/or inflight movements by processing data from onboard and offboard sensors and by issuing well-timed control signals to one or more onboard actuators to achieve an inflight controlled motion. The actuators may move an appendage such as an arm or leg of the robot or may alter the configuration of one or more body links (e.g., to change from an untucked configuration to a tucked configuration), while other embodiments may trigger a drive mechanism of an inertia moving assembly to change/move the moment of inertia of the flying body. In-flight controlled movements are performed to achieve a desired or target pose and orientation of the robot during flight and upon landing.

Ballistic robot system with spin and other controlled motion of robot during flight

A system for sensing and controlling eye contact for a robot. The system includes a robotic figure with a movable eye. The system includes a light source positioned in the robotic figure to output light through a light outlet of the eye. A light sensor is included that senses light striking surfaces in a physical space in which the robotic figure is positioned including the output light from the light source. The system includes an image processor processing output of the light sensor to identify a location of a target formed by the output light striking surfaces in the physical space and to identify a location of a face of a human. Further, the system includes a robot controller generating eye movement control signals based on the location of the target and the location of the face to position the eye to provide eye contact with the human observer.

Eye contact sensing and control for robotic characters

Systems and corresponding control methods providing a ballistic robot that flies on a trajectory after being released (e.g., in non-powered flight as a ballistic body) from a launch mechanism. The ballistic robot is adapted to control its position and/or inflight movements by processing data from onboard and offboard sensors and by issuing well-timed control signals to one or more onboard actuators to achieve an inflight controlled motion. The actuators may move an appendage such as an arm or leg of the robot or may alter the configuration of one or more body links (e.g., to change from an untucked configuration to a tucked configuration), while other embodiments may trigger a drive mechanism of an inertia moving assembly to change/move the moment of inertia of the flying body. Inflight controlled movements are performed to achieve a desired or target pose and orientation of the robot during flight and upon landing.

A system for providing a user of a virtual reality (VR) system with physical interactions with an object in the real world or in the surrounding physical space while they are concurrently interacting in the virtual world with a corresponding virtual object. The real world object is dynamic with the system including a physical interaction system that includes a robot with a manipulator for moving, positioning, and/or orienting the real world object to move it into contact with the user. For example, the physical object is moved into contact with a tracked body part of the user at a time that is synchronized with a time of an interaction event occurring in the virtual world being created by the VR system. Further, a system is described for providing a dynamic physical interaction to a human participant, e.g., a fast and compelling handover in an augmented reality (AR) system.

System for introducing physical experiences into virtual reality (VR) worlds

One embodiment provides a method, including: detecting, using at least one sensor, a displacement event associated with a monopod jib, wherein the displacement event moves a portion of the monopod jib from a first position to a second position; calculating, using a processor, an adjustment value for at least one of a plurality of motors of a stabilization mechanism operatively coupled to the monopod jib, wherein the calculated adjustment value identifies a motor movement to counteract the displacement event; activating the at least one of a plurality of motors corresponding to the calculated adjustment value; and adjusting, using the activated at least one of the plurality of motors, at least one portion of the stabilization mechanism using the calculated adjustment value. Other embodiments are shown and described.

Motion stabilization on a motorized monopod jib

A modular floor with active tiles that utilize numerous friction or contact disks each with a raised segment or portion on their edges that together provide a planar contact surface for the active tile. Each disk is oriented at a fixed tilt angle to define which part of the disk's outer surfaces act as the raised portion, and each disk is oriented to position where the raised surface is located so as to define the direction that a supported object is moved over the modular floor. The drive system typically includes, for each disk assembly, a disk orienting mechanism along with a disk rotation mechanism to rotate the disk at a rotation rate about its central axis. The controller of the motion system operates the disk orienting mechanism to orient the disk so that a particular location on the disk behaves as the raised portion where an object is contacted.

Floor system providing omnidirectional movement of a person walking in a virtual reality environment

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Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Günter D Niemeyer