No, I wasn't thinking of robots in Disney films, Ann. I was thinking more of the Disney Audio-Animatronics that are used at the Disneyworld and other themeparks. These are real robotic creations used in visitor attractions and displays, rather than some movie trickery.
From Wiki:
The technology of the AAs (Audio-Animatronics) at the 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! at the Magic Kingdom. Current technologies have paved the way for more elaborate AA figures, such as the "Ursula head" at Mermaid Lagoon Theater at Tokyo DisneySea, the Indiana Jones figures inside the Indy attractions at both Disneyland & Tokyo DisneySea, the "swordfighting" pirates inside Disneyland Paris’ version of Pirates of the Caribbean, the "lava/rock monster" inside Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea, the "Yeti" inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, or the Roz figure in the Disney's California Adventure attraction "Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!". In the case of the Roz figure, Disney makes the figure seemingly "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/clothing. One of the newest figures comes with changes to the classic attraction, "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the two American resorts (Disneyland and Walt Disney World), both now featuring characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The Jack Sparrow figure is based on his portrayer Johnny Depp, even featuring his voice and facial mold.
And if you go
here you'll find a selection of video clips that show some of Disney's AAs. (Click on the little thumbnails at the bottom of the viewing screen for more. They run through quite a range, from the earliest models to the most recent creations.)
There just didn't seem to me to be much difference between the animatronics used in Disneyworld's displays and this one.
It's probably hard to tell from a video clip though. The real difference, I guess would be if this robot is simply a collection of motorised lip and facial movements synched to a pre-recorded message - like Disney's AA's- or whether it's actually able to learn and adapt to its environment and making the conversation up as it goes of its own accord.
From what I saw, it seemed to be the former - which for anyone who's been to Disneyworld won't be that impressive. But who knows...? Maybe it's more sophisticated than it looks - or a video clip can show us.
LabRat
