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Disney teases a flying animatronic Spider-Man for its upcoming Disneyland Avengers Campus

Disney teases a flying animatronic Spider-Man for its upcoming Disneyland Avengers Campus

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From Stickman to Spider-Man

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When Disney Imagineering revealed in 2018 that it was working on “Stuntronics”, its own brand of stunt-double animatronics designed to perform aerial tricks, demo videos of its prototype robots conjured up images of superheroes flying through the air. Now the robots are suited up and Disney is unveiling their true purpose: to become the incredible Spider-Man, swinging across the upcoming Avengers Campus at Disneyland’s California Adventure Park.

The video, via Fast Company, shows the 90-pound Stuntronics figure launched from a wire to fly 60 feet in the air. It can tumble through the air in various poses, which is made possible by onboard sensors that let the robot know to make real-time decisions like when to outstretch its arms, or to tuck in its knees for a somersault. It’s impressive considering Spider-Man’s humble roots as Stickman, one of Disney’s earliest autonomous robot research experiments that used motion sensors and laser rangefinders to self-correct its center of balance. You can watch more tests of the Spider-Man animatronic in the clip below, from the Disney+ show The Imagineering Story.

The clip shows Spider-Man being launched in different poses every time, which should be fun to watch in person throughout the day. It should be especially sweet if you’re J. Jonah Jameson, so you can get more pictures of Spider-Man! Avengers Campus, which was first announced at last year’s D23 expo, will feature Marvel-character-themed attractions and opens this summer at Disneyland California Adventure and Disneyland Paris. The Spider-Man experience will consist of a ride called the W.E.B. (Worldwide Engineering Brigade) which will have guests slinging webs at Spider-Bots run amok.

Concept image of the W.E.B. ride
Concept image of the W.E.B. ride
Disney