New technology from Disney Research

Disney is not just about Mickey Mouse and Goofy in its world renowned theme parks.  It’s actually a massive corporation with an enormous research & development budget.  Whilst scouring the news for Disney related gossip, I came across these new technologies from Disney Research.

disney mechanics

Print your own mechanical toys

By far the most impressive of these videos, Disney has created a way to simplify the creation of mechanical toys without any knowledge of mechanics.  This leads the way to 3D-printing of the toys, and the associated gears and mechanisms that drive the toy’s motion.  Astounding!

Paper Generators – harvesting energy from touch, rubbing and sliding

Electricity produced by rubbing surfaces together is used to light LEDs and electronic ink.  The little people will love this.

Tactile Rendering of 3D Features on Touch Surfaces

Another impressive technology is the ability to simulate ridged and textured surfaces that are actually smooth.  This uses vibrations to simulate the friction of textured surfaces.

PAPILLON: Designing Curved Display Surfaces with Printed Optics

Here’s a way of projecting an image onto a curved surface, but also as a touchscreen display.