In exploring different technologies to use in animatronics, Disney Imagineering has provided a closer look at its Next Gen Animatronic face technology, which shows how real-time projection and calibration tools are reshaping character performance in the parks. In a new video episode of “We Call It Imagineering,” you’ll see highlights of how R&D teams are experimenting with front-projection techniques and custom software to create more expressive, lifelike characters.

Start with a static shell

A surprising detail in the video is how the team incorporated a completely static facial shell with absolutely no internal mechatronics for motion. Yet, the face is fully capable of showing micro-expressions through a projection system alone. Real-time front projection actually maps over the molded face shell. Skin textures and fine details are rendered through shading, which allows for transformations like scars or surface damage to be applied digitally and on-the-fly. 

This approach allows Imagineers to create subtle emotion and texture that traditional mechanically designed faces can't achieve. The team demonstrates how they can shift a character's look instantly—for example, by adding a cut or weathering across the face—without needing physical rework.

Matching Physical and Digital Worlds

In a later part of the video, the imagineering team highlights the tools used to calibrate the system. A crown fitted with AR markers sits on the figure's head. Cameras track those markers and translate their positions into the digital projection space. The calibration software was developed in-house at Walt Disney Imagineering to provide precision registration between the projection and the physical head. The goal is perfect alignment, so the character's projected expressions always sit exactly where they belong. Even small misalignments can break the illusion, so the crown helps the team fine-tune accuracy before performance testing. This is the same system used for cockpit media alignment in the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction. 

The purpose behind this new Next Gen Animatronic face technology is simple: better emotional storytelling. By combining projected expression with physical structure, R&D teams can explore a broader emotional range and more nuanced facial movements. Although this work is still happening inside Imagineering’s mock-up spaces, it shows the direction Disney is moving—toward characters that feel more responsive, more detailed, and better at pulling you into the story.

*Lead image courtesy of Walt Disney Imagineering. 

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