Hot off the heels of Amazon’s announcement that it is exploring the use of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to deliver parcels, Disney has applied for three patents to use the technology at its theme parks for entertainment purposes.
In its 21 August filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, Disney Enterprises proposes using UAVs in three ways: to carry projection screens, payloads Disney calls “floating pixels” or “flixels”, and to fly with marionettes and puppets.
Ken McKay/Rex Features
Disney believes UAVs would improve choreography, while also allowing for more repeated sequences and increased interactivity and mobility of the displays, as UAVs would not be fixed to one particular site. Disney owns theme parks in California and Florida.
The introduction of UAVs at the parks would be subject to US Federal Aviation Administration airspace restrictions, which currently do not allow UAVs to be flown in controlled airspace. However, this is changing, and the FAA is mandated to open up airspace to commercial applications for UAVs by September 2015.
Since the process to open US airspace to unmanned aircraft officially began in 2012, many uses for UAVs have come to the fore – including farming, Arctic research and parcel and food delivery.
The issue of the safety of UAVs – traditionally a military technology, and relatively new to the commercial sector – in national airspace has been raised throughout the process, but Disney claims that the safety of its aerial displays is paramount.
For this reason, UAVs may be required to fly over lagoons and playing fields rather than over an audience, the patents state.
Source: Flight Daily News
