At the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Walt Disney and his team of Imagineers debuted Audio-Animatronics® in four attractions, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, General Electric Carousel of Progress, Ford Magic Skyway, and it’s a small world. As “a new type of animation” that Walt said was “so lifelike that you might find it hard to believe,” Audio-Animatronics captivated audiences, setting the stage for the technological innovation that would transform theme-park attractions for decades to come.
While the Audio-Animatronics in classic Disney® attractions such as Enchanted Tiki Room and Pirates of the Caribbean® continue to delight park-goers, more modern attractions take full advantage of the miniaturized, sensitive enabling hardware components, software algorithms, and connectivity technologies that are available to today’s engineers.
When Michael Tschanz, director of engineering technology and analysis, a segment within Disney Parks, Experiences and Products’ Global Engineering and Technology department, gives the opening keynote at MSEC 2020, SEMI’s first virtual MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress (October 6-8 and 13-15, 2020), attendees will get a rare look inside the magic of select Walt Disney World attractions. Join MEMS & Sensors Industry Group and SEMI on October 6 for Tschanz’s keynote presentation, Model-Based Design and Scientific Data Analytics of Disney Attractions — and experience video footage that you won’t see anywhere else. Register now for MSEC 2020.
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In his role at Disney, Michael Tschanz leads a multidiscipline team which develops detailed mathematical and physics models for transportation, ride and animatronic systems, custom software and network applications, and robotics. The responsibilities for this team also include the development of optimization algorithms, servo controllers, interactive/immersive experiences, data analytics, and material process solutions. Michael’s rich and diverse background includes designs of numerous attractions at various Disney theme parks including: Test Track® Attraction; Mission: SPACE® Attraction; Toy Story Mania!® Attraction and the Expedition Everest® Attraction. Michael also designed all the velocity profiles at the worldwide locations of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™.
Nishita Rao is product marketing manager at SEMI.