As the entertainment giant explores headsetless augmented reality, it is possible that Disney park visitors can soon experience riding through the metaverse.
During the last week of December, Disney Enterprises was granted a patent for a “virtual-world simulator”. According to the US Patent Office, the technology enables people to project 3D images and virtual effects onto physical spaces.
The projection device would not be designed for mass entertainment, but would be designed to be customized to each individual visitor to the park. A family might find Mickey Mouse greeting them by the hot dog stand while another might be able to interact with Harry Potter by grabbing a cup of butterbeer while someone else might see Superman.
Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek highlighted the importance of storytelling through a 3-dimensional canvas during the fourth-quarter earnings call in which he highlighted the technology’s alignment with the brand’s goal. Metaverse has largely been perceived as an online environment that can be accessed through the use of VR headsets or augmented reality glasses. Disney’s technology, on the other hand, would bring the Metaverse to reality through the physical world.
Our efforts to date are merely a prologue to a time when we’ll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely, allowing for storytelling without boundaries in our own Disney metaverse.
Bob Chapek, CEO – Disney
The LA Times reported that Disney officials told them they have no plans to use the simulator in the near future. They added that millions of patents are filed every year to explore new technologies. Neither a spokesperson nor any representative of Disney replied immediately to Insider’s request for comment.
As described in the patent, the simulator is capable of creating shared virtual-world experiences without a headset or mobile device, which “can be costly and inconvenient to wear”. It also says that during COVID-19, wearable AR devices will have to comply with sanitation procedures.
It has not been the first time Disney has expressed its interest in the Metaverse. It was reported during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that CEO Bob Chapek said the firm is prepping to merge physical assets into the metaverse during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call during November 2021.
Disney operates twelve official theme parks throughout the world, including those in the United States, Paris, Hong Kong, Japan, and China. As a whole, Disney generated a total revenue of nearly $17 billion in 2021, but despite the global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its parks, experiences, and products segment generated a total revenue of nearly $2 billion.
