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How Disney’s ‘real’ lightsaber patent actually works

How Disney’s ‘real’ lightsaber patent actually works

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Think tape measures — or slap bracelets, in reverse

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A real lightsaber. How is that possible?

It’s probably not, of course. But when Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro ended his April 8th presentation by whipping out a never-before-seen retractable lightsaber — no video evidence, mind — Disney and Star Wars fans went wild online. Speculation ran rampant, much of it pointing to a 2018 patent for a “Sword device with retractable, internally illuminated blade.” I pored through that patent late that evening, and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to show Verge readers how it works ever since. Heck, I even ordered a pair of LED slap bracelets that have yet to arrive.

But it looks like I won’t need them, because VR developer Ben Ridout has already done better, brilliantly illuminating Disney’s patented concept with a set of simple animations:

Yes, that’s correct — the magic here really does boil down to a pair of fancy motorized tape measures. The patent even mentions “a metal carpenter’s tape measure” as inspiration.

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According to the patent, the lightsaber’s “blade” consists of two spools of translucent material that lie flat when fully wound, like a tape measure inside its reel. When each ribbon is shot out the end, it curves into a semicircle that forms one half of the blade. They’re permanently mounted to a rounded lightsaber “tip” that also pulls along a string of flexible LEDs that’s mounted on a third motorized spool inside the lightsaber’s frame. The two halves of the blade get zipped together by a “blade form” as they exit the lightsaber, creating a single lightsaber beam.

Will such a lightsaber be rigid enough for a practice duel? Only Disney’s Imagineers can say for sure — but either way, this could be a gamechanger for the lightsaber community. We went on a hunt for the ultimate Star Wars lightsabers in 2016, and while modern lightsaber props have incredible light, sound and detailing, the basics haven’t changed in years: you generally choose between a glorified flashlight with a toy telescoping blade that can actually fit inside a handle, or more commonly now, a rigid LED-filled tube you’ll have to remove and store whenever you want to display your saber on a belt.

Now, Disney may have created the full-size, evenly lit, disappearing lightsaber blade of our dreams. Minus the whole “slice objects in half with a beam of energy” part, of course. I’m just wondering whether it’ll be a prop for Disneyland actors, or the latest incredible toy I can’t quite afford.