Audio-Animatronics (also known as simply

Animatronics Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy ...

, and sometimes shortened to AAs) is the registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

for a form of

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

animation created by

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attr ...

for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise (generally a recorded speech or song), but are usually fixed to whatever supports them. They can sit and stand but usually cannot walk. An Audio-Animatronic is different from an android-type robot in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than responding to external stimuli. In 2009, Disney created an interactive version of the technology called Autonomatronics.

History

In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room (11884518096)

Audio-Animatronics were originally a creation of Walt Disney employee Lee Adams, who worked as an electrician at the Burbank studio and was one of Disney's original Imagineers.

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

got a mechanical toy bird in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Roger Broggie Roger Edward Broggie (October 2, 1908 – November 4, 1991) was an American mechanical engineer who worked with Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Company. He is considered the first Disney Imagineer. Early life Broggie was born in 1908, in Pittsf ...

and Wathel Rogers, and modeled after a tap dancing routine by actor Buddy Ebsen. The term "Audio-Animatronics" was first used commercially by Disney in 1961, was filed as a trademark in 1964, and was registered in 1967. The Audio-Animatronic show

The Enchanted Tiki Room Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction located in Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and previously in Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. First opened on June 23, 1963 at the Disneyl ...

opened in 1963 at

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...

. It is a room full of tropical creatures with eye and facial actions synchronized to a musical score entirely by electromechanical means. The Audio-Animatronic cast of the musical revue uses tones recorded on tape to vibrate a metal reed that closes a circuit to trigger a relay, which sends a pulse of electricity to a mechanism that causes a pneumatic valve to move part of the figure. The movements of the attraction's birds, flowers, and tiki idols are triggered by sound. Figures' movements have a neutral "natural resting position" that the limb or part returns to when there is no electric pulse present. Other than this, the animation is a digital system, with only on/off moves, such as an open or closed eye. Other early Audio-Animatronics were at the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

. They were used in the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln exhibit at the State of Illinois Pavilion,

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

's "it's a small world" exhibit,

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

's Carousel of Progress, and

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles ...

's "Magic Skyway." An Audio-Animatronic robin sang a duet with Julie Andrews in the 1964 film '' Mary Poppins''.

Technology

Pneumatic actuators are powerful enough to move heavier objects like simulated limbs, while

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

s are used more for large figures. On/off type movement would cause an arm to be lifted (for example) either up over an animatron's head or down next to its body, but with no halting or change of speed in between. To create more realistic movement in large figures, an

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analo ...

system was used. This gave the figures' body parts a full range of fluid motion, rather than only two positions. To permit a high degree of freedom, the control cylinders resemble typical miniature pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, but mount the back of the cylinder on a ball joint and threaded rod. This ball joint permits the cylinders to float freely inside the frame, such as when the wrist joint rotates and flexes. The oil-filled cylinders occasionally drip or leak, so it is sometimes necessary to do makeup touch-up work, or to strip the clothing off a figure due to leaking fluids inside.

remains a pneumatic theatrical set, primarily due to the leakage concerns, as the Audio-Animatronic figures are above the audience's heads. Because each individual cylinder requires its own control channel, the original Audio-Animatronic figures were relatively simple in design, to reduce the number of channels required. For example, the first human designs (referred to internally by Disney as series A-1) included all four fingers of the hand as one actuator. It could wave its hand but it could not grasp or point at something. With modern digital computers controlling the device, the number of channels is virtually unlimited, allowing more complex, realistic motion. The current versions (series A-100) now have individual actuators for each finger. Disney also introduced a brand new figure that is used in ''Star Wars'': Galaxy's Edge and is referred to as the A1000.

Compliance

Compliance is a new technology that allows faster, more realistic movements without sacrificing control. In the older figures, a fast limb movement would cause the entire figure to shake in an unnatural way. The Imagineers thus had to program slower movements, sacrificing speed in order to gain control. This was frustrating for the animators, who, in many cases, wanted faster movements. Compliance improves this situation by allowing limbs to continue past the points where they are programmed to stop; they then return quickly to the "intended" position, much as real organic body parts do. The various elements also slow to a stop at their various positions, instead of using the immediate stops that caused the unwanted shaking. This absorbs shock, much like the

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Mos ...

s on a car or the natural shock absorption in a living body.

Cosmetics

The skin of an Audio-Animatronic is made from silicone rubber. Because the neck is so much narrower than the rest of the skull, the skull skin cover has a zipper up the back to permit easy removal. The facial appearance is painted onto the rubber, and standard cosmetic makeup is also used. Over time, the flexing causes the paint to loosen and fall off, so occasional makeup work and repainting are required. Generally as the rubber skin flexes, the stress causes it to dry and begin to crack. Figures that do not have a high degree of motion flexibility, such as the older A-1 series for President Lincoln, may only need to have their skin replaced every ten years. The most recent A-100 series human AAs, like the figure for President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, also include flexion actuators that move the cheeks and eyebrows to permit more realistic expressions; however, the skin wears out more quickly and needs replacement at least every five years. The wig on each human AA is made from natural human hair for the highest degree of realism, although using real hair creates its own problems, since the changing humidity and constant rapid motions of the moving AA carriage hardware throughout the day cause the hair to slowly lose its styling, requiring touch-ups before each day's showing.

Autonomatronics

Autonomatronics is a registered trademark for a more advanced Audio-Animatronic technology, also created by Walt Disney Imagineers. The original Audio-Animatrons used hydraulics to operate robotic figures to present a pre-programmed show. This more sophisticated technology can include cameras and other sensors feeding signals to a high-speed computer which processes the information and makes choices about what to say and do. In September 2009, Disney debuted "Otto", the first interactive figure that can hear, see and sense actions in the room. Otto can hold conversations and react to the audience. In December 2009, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln returned to Disneyland using the new Autonomatronics technology.

Stuntronics

In June 2018, it was revealed that Disney Imagineering had created autonomous, self-correcting aerial stunt robots called stuntronics. This new extension of animatronics utilizes onboard sensors for precision control of advanced robotics to create animatronic human stunt doubles that can perform advanced aerial movements, such as flips and twists.

Variations

The technology of the AAs at Disney's theme parks around the world vary in their sophistication. They range from the blinking and mouth movements at Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room to full body movement, from the mouth to the tip of the fingers at

Stitch's Great Escape! Stitch's Great Escape! was a " theater-in-the-round" attraction based on Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise. A non-canon prequel to the original 2002 film that detailed Stitch's "first" prison escape, it was located in the Tomorrowland area ...

at the

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

. Current technologies have paved the way for more elaborate AA figures, such as President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

in The

Hall of Presidents The Hall of Presidents is an attraction located in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The attraction is a multi-media presentation featuring Audio-Animatronic figures of all 45 individuals who have served as President ...

, “Ursula head" inside the Mermaid Lagoon Theater at Tokyo DisneySea, the Indiana Jones figures inside the Indiana Jones attractions at both

and Tokyo DisneySea, the "swordfighting" pirates inside Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Park (Paris), the "lava/rock monster" inside Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea, the "Na'vi Shaman of Songs" inside the

Na'vi River Journey Na'vi River Journey is a dark ride attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom's Pandora – The World of ''Avatar''. The ride takes guests through the Kasvapan River of Pandora from the 2009 film ''Avatar'', showcasing native animals and bioluminesc ...

, the

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s inside

DINOSAUR Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

, and the "

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Expedition Everest at

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

(though the latter has been non-functional since 2008, using a strobe light to simulate movement of the still figure), or the Roz figure inside Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! at

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

. The Roz figure is able to "interact" with guests with help from an unseen ride operator who chooses pre-recorded messages for Roz to "speak", thereby seeming to "react" to individual guests' unique appearances and clothing. Mr. Potato Head outside of the Toy Story Mania! attractions at the Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios parks does the same. One of the newest figures comes with changes to the classic Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, both now featuring characters from the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. The Jack Sparrow figure is based on the actor that portrays him,

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awar ...

, and features his voice and facial mold. So far, the newest and most advanced Audio-Animatronic figure is

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

at The Disneyland Story: Featuring Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. Lincoln can move his lips to form words, can make dramatic movements, and can portray emotions to match the words he is saying. The Audio-Animatronic

anglerfish The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes (). They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence ...

inside The Seas with Nemo & Friends Uses a robotic arm that is connected to a puppet to control realistic swimming movements of the animatronic to make the effect that the anglerfish is actually swimming. Robotic arms has also appeared in other attractions such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey At Universal Studios Orlando and

The Sum of All Thrills The Sum of All Thrills was an attraction at Walt Disney World Resort's Epcot theme park. Sponsored by Raytheon, the ride let park guests custom-design their own thrill ride using mathematical tools, an innovative touch screen table and a robotic s ...

In the Innoventions area at

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unr ...

. The Audio-Animatronic Indiana Jones figures inside Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull at Tokyo DisneySea resemble actor

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

, unlike the original figures found at the Disneyland version,

Temple of the Forbidden Eye A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. In 2010, some of the Audio-Animatronic figures at the Disneyland version were replaced with more technically advanced figures that also look more like Ford. The Audio-Animatronics formerly featured in the Great Movie Ride used the likeness of the actors that portrayed the characters. Audio-Animatronics found in

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a steel roller coaster located at Magic Kingdom and Shanghai Disneyland Park. Manufactured by Vekoma, the roller coaster is situated in the Fantasyland sections of both parks. The Magic Kingdom version opened to the pu ...

are Disney's latest animatronic technology and use projections as faces to make the dwarfs' mouths move and their eyes blink. These Audio-Animatronics were succeeded by the figures in use in the ''Star Wars'': Galaxy's Edge lands at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2019, such as Hondo Ohnaka in the ''Millennium Falcon'' – Smugglers Run attraction. These new figures, known as A-1000 Animatronics, have a fully functional face, featuring a full range of motion in the eyes and mouth.

In popular culture

* Less-sophisticated forms of audio-

animatronics Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy ...

also gained popularity in the 1980s through use at family entertainment centers such as Showbiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's. At Showbiz, ''

The Rock-afire Explosion The Rock-afire Explosion was an animatronic character band that appeared in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 to 1992. Since 1992, independent companies and people have been preserving it and one can still view the show in various locati ...

'' band was made by Aaron Fechter and Creative Engineering, who also made other animatronic characters and arcade redemption games. They are also used in film and television special effects. * Several passengers and the crew of a Pioneer Zephyr are represented in a display of this historic train at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's Museum of Science and Industry. Neatly dressed in the proper style of first class passengers of their era, one remarks upon the casual dress of the visitors. * The George Washington Masonic National Memorial features an animatronic George Washington. * John Wardley is often said to have brought

to the United Kingdom, utilizing a concept called Ramped Movement, which allowed for smoother movements of the figures. John appeared on '' Tomorrow's World'' in the 1970s showing a guitar playing animatronic programmed to music. His first project was the creation of the animated show "50 Glorious Years" for Tussaud's "Royalty and Empire Exhibition" at Windsor. *

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) ...

member Ana Matronic named herself after animatronics, as a homage to her love of '' The Bionic Woman''. * The Pennsylvania Lottery uses an animatronic

groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

named Gus (who refers to himself as the "second-most-famous groundhog in Pennsylvania", after Punxsutawney Phil) as the mascot for television commercials for their instant scratch-off games. * The 2015 Disney film '' Tomorrowland'' uses the Audio-Animatronics word as a term for their sophisticated android characters. * A

dissociative Dissociatives, colloquially dissos, are a subclass of hallucinogens which distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of ...

animatronic Lincoln is one of the malfunctioning robots at the robot asylum in the '' Futurama'' episode "

Insane in the Mainframe "Insane in the Mainframe" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American animated sitcom '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 8, 2001. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and dir ...

Gallery

File:Hallofpresidents2011.jpg, The Hall of Presidents circa 2011 at the Magic Kingdom File:HallofPresidents.jpg, The Hall of Presidents from 2001 to 2008 File:Abominable Snowman.JPG, Abominable Snowman at the Matterhorn Bobsleds in 2007, before the 2015 refurbishment File:Muppet Mobile Lab (420359093).jpg, The Muppet Mobile Lab at the Pixar Studios, featuring two Muppets, Honeydew and Beaker. Pete Docter, Pixar's chief creative officer, can be seen above the vehicle's headlights. File:Lucky the Dinosaur (13954963).jpg, Lucky the Dinosaur in

in 2005.

References

External links

DizTech: The Disney Technology Blog
at DizFanatic.com

at HowStuffWorks.com
Masters of Puppets: Rock-afire Explosion
{{Robotics Disney jargon Disney technology