Disney files patent applications for interesting use of UAVs

[Pokemaniac]

For those of you who don't know, a UAV, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, is what we commonly call a "drone". The type of UAV Disney wishes to use is called "multicopters", tiny helicopters with four or more rotors.

These have become quite widespread in recent years, and while the technology Disney files patents for is a few years from being perfected, several of the things they describe is already feasible. They want to program several multicopters to work together, in a sort of swarm behaviour. Using tethers, a few multicopters working together can pilot big marionettes. Carrying bright lanterns, each drone can work as a "pixel" in the night sky, so Disney could make displays using a swarm of them. They could also suspend other animatronics, to make characters such as Tinkerbell or Dumbo fly around the parks.

Abstract:
A system for performing an aerial display. The system includes a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and a ground control system with a processor executing a fleet manager module and with memory storing a different flight plan for each of the UAVs. The system further includes a marionette with a body and articulatable appendages attached to the body. The body and appendages are supported with tether lines extending between the marionette and the UAVs. Then, during a display time period, the UAVs concurrently execute the flight plans to position and articulate the marionette within a display air space. In some embodiments, the UAVs each is a multicopter, and each of the multicopters includes a local controller operating to move the multicopter through a series of way points defined by the flight plan associated with the multicopter.

Claims:
1. A system for providing an aerial display, comprising: a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); and a ground control system with a processor executing a fleet manager module and with memory storing a different flight plan for each of the UAVs; and a marionette with a body and articulatable appendages attached to the body, wherein the body and appendages are supported with tether lines extending between the marionette and the UAVs, wherein, during a display time period, the UAVs concurrently execute the flight plans to position and articulate the marionette within a display air space.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAVs each comprises a multicopter.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the multicopters comprises a local controller operating to move the multicopter through a series of way points defined by the flight plan associated with the multicopter.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein, the marionette comprises a plurality of connecting elements each attached to an end of one of the tether lines.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each of the UAVs is attached via one of the tether lines to only one of the connecting elements.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein each of the UAVs is attached via the tether lines to two or more of the connecting elements.

7. The system Of claim 6, wherein each of the UAVs includes a winch assembly for selectively adjusting a length of each of the tether lines to articulate the marionette during the display time period.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein at least some of the connecting elements is coupled to an articulating frame on or within the body or the appendages of the marionette.

9. The system of claim 1, further including a second marionette supported by one or more of the UAVs, wherein the flight plans define flight paths causing the marionettes to be positioned in proximity in the display air space to form a floating superstructure.

10. A flight control method, comprising: at a plurality of multicopters, receiving a flight plan unique to each of the multicopters; concurrently operating the multicopters to execute the flight plans within an air space; and during the operating of the multicopters, supporting a string puppet with the multicopters, whereby the string puppet is supported and articulated in the air space by movement of the multicopters.

11. The method of claim 10, further including: providing a communications channel between pairs of the multicopters; with a first one of the multicopters detecting a second one of the multicopters in a predefined space proximal to the first one of the multicopters; and operating the display payload of the first one of the multicopters in a new manner based on an identity of the second one of the multicopters.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the string puppet comprises a plurality of connecting elements each attached to an end of a tether line extending to one of the multicopters.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the multicopters is attached via the tether lines to two or more of the connecting elements and wherein the method includes selectively adjusting a length of each of the tether lines to articulate the string puppet during the operating of the multicopters step.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising supporting a second string puppet with the multicopters and wherein the operating of the multicopters includes moving the string puppets into adjacent positions to form a floating superstructure movable and articulatabie in the air space.

15. An apparatus for use in an aerial display, comprising: a marionette with a plurality of connecting elements; a plurality of UAVs; and tethering lines extending between the UAVs and the connecting elements, wherein the UAVs have synchronized movement through a display air space to support and articulate the marionette to move between at least a first position and a second position.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the UAVs each include local controllers executing flight plans to move each of the UAVs along a predefined flight path to provide the articulation and positioning of the marionette.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the connecting elements are provided on joints or frames of the marionette.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the UAVs is attached to at least two of the tethering lines.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the UAVs include a mechanism for selectively and independently articulating the at least two of the tethering lines.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the marionette comprises a plurality of subcomponents each including one or more of the connecting elements and wherein the subcomponents may be assembled and disassembled in the display air space by movement of the UAVs along predefined flight paths.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/2014023 ... z3BlHB5AlX

The patent application also includes some pictures...

This picture was not found in the application itself, but it was posted in the news article where I first heard about it:

Do note, however, that the current laws in the US do not allow commercial use of drones, as pointed out by a Forbes contributor in a quite interesting article here. French law does, however, so given the right paperwork the technology could be used at DLP. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about this, since the technology still is a few years away, and given the rapid development and growing importance of drones, the US is practically bound to have laws in place by the time the drones have been fully developed.




Personally, I think this is pretty interesting, and could lead to some spectacular aerial displays. Disney uses tremendous sums of money on fireworks every year, so economically it would make great sense for them to cut down on them and use drones in their place. A major challenge would be to get rid of the noise, though. Current drones make a high-pitched and loud buzzing sound, which would be quite distracting at a theme park.

What do you think?

 

[marc]

Re: Disney files patent applications for interesting use of

I can see them using this for Avatar Land and in the animal kingdom for the night time show so they avoid scaring the animals with loud bangs.

I cannot see them replacing the fireworks in the other parks as people enjoy the loud bangs and smoke.

 

[rtotheizzo17]

Re: Disney files patent applications for interesting use of

^I always thought the whole firework argument was an excuse for being cheap (the standard firework show is pretty expensive). Parks like Busch Gardens and Wild Adventures have firework shows.

 

[peep]

Re: Disney files patent applications for interesting use of

I think this is a rather cool idea and I can't wait to see what Disney have in mind or where they'll use it first.

The US law is a little annoying, maybe Disney have a way of getting around that? The timing just seems right for them wanting to use it in Animal Kingdom like Marc said. As always with Disney, we'll have to wait and see.

 

[marc]

^I always thought the whole firework argument was an excuse for being cheap (the standard firework show is pretty expensive). Parks like Busch Gardens and Wild Adventures have firework shows.

They have sponsorship for wishes now and their other firework shows, no idea how much it actually covers though tbh.

 

[Robbie]

Re: Disney files patent applications for interesting use of

The story that came out a couple of years ago was that they wanted a flying dragon over Fantasyland, but there's loads of possibilities.

 

[peep]

Re: Disney files patent applications for interesting use of

The flying dragon is different and was actually used on the evening of the grand opening of New Fantasyland. It's designed for Avatarland but there is potential for this new concept to take over that initial design.