Disney researchers have found a way for a robot to mimic an animated character’s walk, bringing a cartoon (or other) character to life in the real world.

Beginning with an animation of a diminutive, peanut-shaped character that walks with a rolling, somewhat bow-legged gait, Katsu Yamane and his team at Disney Research Pittsburgh analyzed the character’s motion to design a robotic frame that could duplicate the walking motion. using 3D-printed links and servo motors, while also fitting inside the character’s skin. They then created control software that could keep the robot balanced while duplicating the character’s gait as closely as possible.

“The biggest challenge is that designers don’t necessarily consider physics when they create an animated character,” said Yamane, senior research scientist. Roboticists, however, wrestle with physical constraints throughout the process of creating a real-life version of the character.

“It’s important that, despite physical limitations, we do not sacrifice style or the quality of motion,” Yamane said. The robots will need to not only look like the characters, but move in the way people are accustomed to seeing those characters move.

The researchers are describing the techniques and technologies they used to create the bipedal robot at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2015, May 26–30 in Seattle.

DisneyResearchHub | Development of a Bipedal Robot that Walks Like an Animation Character