A New Patent Shows that Disney Parks Might Be Going Virtual

There has been a lot of talk lately over what is known as the “metaverse,” a virtual environment where people could interact with one another, whether it’s through traditionally digital spaces like social media or simulated physical experiences such as work or play.

Back in 2020, Disney themselves began a conversation around what a “theme park metaverse” could look like. Now, it looks like we’re starting to see some of the ways Disney intends on introducing the metaverse into their parks in the form of patents.

The Walt Disney Company was granted a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on December 28th for what is being described as “a virtual-world simulator in a real-world venue.” In simple terms, Spectrum News 1 reported that “They want to turn a real-world venue into a virtual world simulation” according to John DeStefano, a patent and technology technical adviser with Founders Legal.

According to the patent, “Disney plans to create a virtual world simulator, perhaps inside a room or different parts of the park, that includes a hardware processor, a tracking system and ‘a handheld device configured for use by a user in the real-world venue and communicatively coupled to the computing platform.'” DeStefano described Disney’s potential application of this patent as “They are going to map the environment first, track users in the environment and project the corresponding virtual simulation in the actual real-world venue.”

Sounds like augmented reality, right? The major difference here is that A.R. relies on the use of a headset or a screen. In this scenario, the environment surrounding the individual would be projected on to create a virtual world within a physical space.

This patent is part of a growing trend from companies around the world to begin to think about ways to integrate the metaverse into the consumer experience. Patent attorney Yuri Eliezer added, “A lot of companies are heading into the metaverse…There’s a growing ecosystem and land grab of patents. Everyone is trying to get their own piece of this metaverse.”

So could your future vacation to Disney World be…a virtual one? We’ll have to wait and see how this patent is specifically adopted, but it sounds like the metaverse could become a part of the vacation experience soon! We’ll continue to keep an eye out for emerging patents from the Walt Disney Company, as well as the ways these patents are being implemented throughout the parks! Be sure to follow along for more of the latest news and updates.

Click here to read about more ways Disney’s recent patents could shape the future of the theme park experience.

Do you have a Disney World vacation planned for 2022? Let us know in the comments!

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