LEGGED HIGH-DEXTERITY SELF-BALANCING CAPABLE ROBOT ACTOR

Number: 20220119053
Published: 2022-04-21
Filed: 2021-12-30
Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
Inventors: LAVALLEY; SCOTT CHRISTOPHER, THOMPSON; KYLE ROBERT, HOPKINS; MICHAEL ANTHONY, DICKINSON; DEXTER J., BISHOP; JARED EDWARD, REES; JERRY W., CESARE; KYLE MICHAEL
CPC: B62D57/032; B25J11/0015; B25J11/0035; B25J11/0005; B25J11/003
Verdict: High Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Legged self-balancing robot actor hardware (BDX-droid-class, pre-grant).

Abstract

A robot actor, or character mobility hardware platform, adapted to unleash or provide a wide variety of characters in the physical world. The robot actor enables the often screen-constrained characters to become life-like, interactive participants with nearby people in ways not presently achievable. The robot actor is an untethered, free-roaming robot that is has two (or more) legs, is adapted for high dexterity, is controlled and designed to be self-balancing, and, due to this combination of characteristics, the robot can provide characters with an illusion of life and, in many cases, in correct proportion and scale. The hardware and software of the robot actor will become a new generation of animatronic figures by providing a hardware platform capable of continuously evolving to become more capable through advances in controls and artificial intelligence (AI).

Background

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description.

The present description relates, in general, to design and control of high dexterity, self-balancing, legged robots, and, more particularly, to a robot (and a system and a method of designing such a robot) that is adapted to operate as a robotic actor capable of performing as one or more characters so as to provide the illusion of life by displaying that individual character's unique attitudes and story-consistent emotions via audio, facial expression, and recognizable body language. The “robot” with this design may also be considered “a character mobility hardware platform.” 2. Relevant Background.

There are many applications and environments where it is desirable to provide a physical character from a book, a movie, a video game, or a television show. For example, many venues may wish to entertain visitors by having the characters interact with visitors or by having the characters put on a show. Often, these characters are too small, too uniquely proportioned, and too delicately detailed for any costumed actor to portray without breaking the reality of the experience for visitors. As technology increasingly brings higher quality to entertainment experiences, visitors increasingly expect characters to have the same degree of authenticity in scale, look, and nuance of behavior, whether experienced in movie space, game space, virtual space, augmented space or physical space or whether experienced across multiples of these s

Claims

1. A robot for bringing characters to life in the physical world, comprising: movable components; memory storing at least one of a set of gestures and a set of movements for each of a plurality of moods or emotions associated with one of a plurality of characters; and a controller located onboard the robot, wherein the robot is untethered and free-ranging in a physical space, wherein the controller determines, in real time, a present mood or emotion associated with the robot, wherein the controller selects one of the sets of gestures or one of the sets of movements based on the determined present mood or emotion for the one of the plurality of characters, and wherein the controller operates a set of actuators to operate the movable components using the selected one of the sets of gestures or the sets of movements, whereby the robot is operated to provide an illusion of life for the one of the plurality of characters. || 8. A robot for bringing characters to life in the physical world, comprising: movable components; memory storing a set of scripts defining a set of movements for each of a plurality of characters, wherein the set of movements associated with each of the plurality of characters is unique; and a controller located onboard the robot, wherein the robot is untethered and free-ranging in a physical space, wherein the controller is operated to animate the robot in a manner associated with one of the plurality of characters and, in response, to use the set of scripts from the memory associated with the one of the plurality of characters, and wherein the controller operates a set of actuators on the robot to operate the movable components using the set of movements defined in the set of scripts associated with the one of the plurality of characters. || 13. A robot for bringing characters to life in the physical world, comprising: movable components; data storage storing a first performance plan and a first portable character model both associated with a first one of the characters, wherein the first performance plan defines actions to be performed by the robot and wherein the first portable character model defines how the actions are to be performed based on an identity of the first one of the characters; and a controller located onboard the robot, wherein the controller operates a set of actuators to operate the movable components using the first performance plan to perform the actions based on the first portable character model, whereby the robot is operated to provide a set of movements in a manner associated with the first one of the characters.