Drones in the US: Disney Files to Use Devices at Orlando Theme Parks
Disney has filed three patents to use drones at its Orlando theme parks, citing uses such as entertainment and projection screens, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The first patent calls for a multi-drone system to hold up projection screens for a nighttime display, using "flixels," which is an Imagineer (Disney's design and development arm) word creation for "floating pixels," according to the background information from Disney, the Sentinel reports.
The drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, would hold up flexible projection screens which would have little wind resistance and reflect light off the surface, according to the second patent, the Sentinel reports.
The Sentinel reported that the uses, though stated in the patents, could potentially change or expand.
One such use may be to have a projection of fireworks, rather than the actually pyrotechnics -- a much more cost-effective way to produce a nighttime visual.
Another use, the Sentinel reports, could have to do with security. In a dangerous world as today is, the use of drones is an effective anti-terrorist tool - and since the theme parks are easy targets with their large crowds, drones would be useful for the mulch-billion dollar company.
The third patent is slightly more whimsical, by comparison.
It would use multiple drones attached to balloons or large puppets to make them move or make the puppets look like they are walking.
Disney believes that the use of drones is a safer way to create aerial entertainment, according to Forbes.
But Forbes also reports that the current filings are prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration, because commercial use of drones is not allowed.
The FAA has consistently reiterated its ban on the commercial use of UAVs.
"A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot and operating approval," the FAA said earlier this year. "There are no shades of gray in FAA regulations. Anyone who wants to fly an aircraft-manned or unmanned-in U.S. airspace needs some level of FAA approval."
And Disney's proposal for these drone uses likely were unanticipated by the FAA, according to Forbes.
In fact, even if new rules are put in place to allow the use of commercial drones, Disney may still be banned because it is likely the FAA will approve drone makers which have previously done business with the government or military, according to Forbes.
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