Mar 08 2025 16 mins 2
I tested Disney’s coolest new tech…
Go to https://surfshark.com/cleo for 4 extra months of Surfshark
Today I’ve been invited behind the scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering, the place where Disney brings their craziest ideas to life - from STUNT ROBOTS to a real life version of The Force, to adorable little droids!
On this show Huge If True, we explore how tech can improve people’s lives - by living longer, going farther, doing more. But the reason I’ve loved Disney since I was a kid is they use tech to improve lives another way… by making people happy. And that means they end up pushing forward tech in some crazy, unexpected ways.
So let me take you inside the magic, to show you the cutting edge tech they’re building… how it works… and what happens when we put it to the test!
Chapters:
0:00 What is Disney building next?
1:11 What does Walt Disney Imagineering do?
1:52 What are Disney’s new droids really like?
2:47 How do Disney’s new droids work?
5:08 What’s the world’s most realistic lightsaber?
6:17 How do Disney’s lightsabers work?
8:05 How do you make The Force real?
9:53 How does Disney’s holotile work?
11:59 What will Disney use holotile for?
12:48 How does Disney use robot stunt doubles?
13:57 Special guests!!
15:54 Why is Disney tech huge if true?
16:15 :)
You can find me on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram
On TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram
Or on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/cleoabram
Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.
Additional reading and watching:
- I Tried A Disney Secret Project! Marques Brownlee https://youtu.be/1KEtxTQUzxY?si=Ovb2gpeoxbzlTTWN
- Inside Disney’s ‘Area 51,’ Where Lightsabers and Other Tech Are Invented, WSJ https://youtu.be/9miiL-nb1bY?si=i180AST_ok4sNM_P
- Pick, Carry, Place, Repeat | Inside the Lab with Atlas, Boston Dynamics https://youtu.be/v8UaiRgqvlc?si=Z3LU0pkhdCrUps6i
- Duke Weaselton pushes his own way to the top, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/VFNruidzlZw?si=-2U1ft0TA7x8RrSa
- A New Approach to Disney’s Robotic Character Pipeline, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/-cfIm06tcfA?si=1LXHwcc5EvIMpvN_
- Droids in Training: Imagineers Conduct Playtest at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/qNfRgZMWyCI?si=K6EujeGkKEcl5-pP
- How Disney Designed a Robotic Spider-Man, WIRED https://youtu.be/oyXl3IhonRM?si=93IQjc9mJvMK8BS5
- Disney Imagineers Develop Cutting-edge, Free-roaming Robotic Actor, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/EdDJ77uDwWQ?si=A_I7abl3eVCdI3TK
- Disney Imagineering has created autonomous robot stunt doubles, TechCrunch https://youtu.be/ENa98h7M7qY?si=1M7Z5C3XDWQiELM5
Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/
Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro
Music: Musicbed, Tom Fox
Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1
—
Welcome to the joke down low:
Why’s it so hard to tell a good Star Wars joke? They all feel forced.
Find a way to use “force” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who made it to the end of the description :)
Go to https://surfshark.com/cleo for 4 extra months of Surfshark
Today I’ve been invited behind the scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering, the place where Disney brings their craziest ideas to life - from STUNT ROBOTS to a real life version of The Force, to adorable little droids!
On this show Huge If True, we explore how tech can improve people’s lives - by living longer, going farther, doing more. But the reason I’ve loved Disney since I was a kid is they use tech to improve lives another way… by making people happy. And that means they end up pushing forward tech in some crazy, unexpected ways.
So let me take you inside the magic, to show you the cutting edge tech they’re building… how it works… and what happens when we put it to the test!
Chapters:
0:00 What is Disney building next?
1:11 What does Walt Disney Imagineering do?
1:52 What are Disney’s new droids really like?
2:47 How do Disney’s new droids work?
5:08 What’s the world’s most realistic lightsaber?
6:17 How do Disney’s lightsabers work?
8:05 How do you make The Force real?
9:53 How does Disney’s holotile work?
11:59 What will Disney use holotile for?
12:48 How does Disney use robot stunt doubles?
13:57 Special guests!!
15:54 Why is Disney tech huge if true?
16:15 :)
You can find me on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram
On TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram
Or on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/cleoabram
Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.
Additional reading and watching:
- I Tried A Disney Secret Project! Marques Brownlee https://youtu.be/1KEtxTQUzxY?si=Ovb2gpeoxbzlTTWN
- Inside Disney’s ‘Area 51,’ Where Lightsabers and Other Tech Are Invented, WSJ https://youtu.be/9miiL-nb1bY?si=i180AST_ok4sNM_P
- Pick, Carry, Place, Repeat | Inside the Lab with Atlas, Boston Dynamics https://youtu.be/v8UaiRgqvlc?si=Z3LU0pkhdCrUps6i
- Duke Weaselton pushes his own way to the top, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/VFNruidzlZw?si=-2U1ft0TA7x8RrSa
- A New Approach to Disney’s Robotic Character Pipeline, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/-cfIm06tcfA?si=1LXHwcc5EvIMpvN_
- Droids in Training: Imagineers Conduct Playtest at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/qNfRgZMWyCI?si=K6EujeGkKEcl5-pP
- How Disney Designed a Robotic Spider-Man, WIRED https://youtu.be/oyXl3IhonRM?si=93IQjc9mJvMK8BS5
- Disney Imagineers Develop Cutting-edge, Free-roaming Robotic Actor, Walt Disney Imagineering https://youtu.be/EdDJ77uDwWQ?si=A_I7abl3eVCdI3TK
- Disney Imagineering has created autonomous robot stunt doubles, TechCrunch https://youtu.be/ENa98h7M7qY?si=1M7Z5C3XDWQiELM5
Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/
Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro
Music: Musicbed, Tom Fox
Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1
—
Welcome to the joke down low:
Why’s it so hard to tell a good Star Wars joke? They all feel forced.
Find a way to use “force” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who made it to the end of the description :)
