Disney Patent Allows Audio-Animatronics to Tell Where You’re Looking

Every few weeks or so another Disney patent is discovered, giving us a peek at some of the technologies the company is working on to either improve the park experience or steal your identity, depending on who you ask. As Orlando Business Journal reports, the latest theme park patent uncovered would allow Audio-Animatronics to track your eyes and know where you’re looking.

Simply put, the technology described would measure the whites of guests’ eyeballs to determine where their irises were pointed. In theory, this information could then be used to make AAs more interactive. The patent explains, “By tracking the gaze of a participant, a computing system may direct various animatronics, automated objects or the like to interact with the participant. For example, a computing system within a theme park may direct an animatronic character from a movie to make a noise if a participant is looking at the animatronic character.”

As always, just because Disney files a patent for a technology and suggests applications for it doesn’t mean that we’ll see this in the park anytime soon. That said, this one doesn’t sound that far-fetched or as creepy as a headline for it might sound. What do you think about this particular patent?