I Never Saw Animatronics Like This: Epic Universe Team Reveals Challenges of Theme Park Tech

I can't take my eyes off Dr. Victoria Frankenstein. I've seen plenty of theme park animatronics before, but as this robot moves fluidly in front of me, there's something otherworldly about how she was designed: her digitally animated face is projected on a physically animating head, and it looks like a video game character has come to life. But just as I try to figure out what makes her tick, I'm distracted by the reveal of another jaw-dropping animatronic: her 800-pound, 9-foot-tall green monster walking toward the audience. Watch this: How Universal's Robots Push Boundaries of Animatronics 08:55 It's only fitting that some of the most advanced animatronics created reside in Dark Universe, a spooky world where mad scientists push the limits of technology. This is one of five immersive lands inside Universal's Epic Universe, a new theme park in Orlando, Florida -- and the first major theme park to open in the US in 20 years. At the grand opening this month, I spoke with some of the c ... Read full article.