Disney’s flying robot stunt double can pose just like a superhero

One of Disney's new prototype animatronic robots takes to the air.

If you were going to bet on which technology might soon do the work of a stuntman, you'd probably guess CGI. It turns out robots have a shot, too — robots built by Disney.

A new report from TechCrunch lays out the advances the company has made in the field of animatronics. These are the lifelike, usually static robots, designed to entertain the crowds at Disney theme parks and resorts. Think of the grog-swilling pirates carousing in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, or the recently unveiled Na'vi in the new Pandora: The World of Avatar attraction.

But a new breed of animatronics are pushing the limits of robot engineering. Following the company's Stickman project, Disney's engineers are now building humanoid robots designed to take...

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