GLENDALE, Calif. -- Disney's Imagineers have unveiled a cutting-edge stunt robot that can flip and soar through the air just like a traditional human acrobat.
Footage released by Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development showed the humanesque Stuntronics robots pulling off mid-air flips and somersaults, and one Stuntronic simply soared through the air like Superman before landing in a safety net below.
The 90-pound Stuntronics are decked out with onboard sensors that help the robots make acrobatic decisions in the moment, according to Disney.
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"It knows when to tuck its knees to perform a somersault, when to pull its arms to twist, and even when to slow down its spin to make sure it sticks that perfect landing," the company wrote in a blog post.
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The Stuntronics technology is the successor to Stickman, a Z-shaped robot introduced earlier this spring. That figure pulls off similar somersaults and swinging stunts, though the Stuntronics robots look decidedly more human than Stickman.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development and this station.