Disney Files Patent For Real-Life Lightsaber Battles
Disney could be about to turn Star Wars lightsaber battles into reality - well, almost.
A new patent describes plans to create a device which looks, feels and sounds like the real thing.
It shows that drones would be used to fire beams of light at an audience, who would use replica lightsabers to 'deflect' the lasers back at the flying machines.
It was filed in 2015, a year before the announcement that Disney would be opening Star Wars Land.
The 14-acre attraction is currently under construction at its Hollywood Studios park in Florida.
The application describes how visitors will walk into a theatre in which the air is filled with water vapor, liquid nitrogen or theatrical fog to make the laser beams clearer.
They will then be handed a LED-beaming lightsaber that transmits infrared light.
When the infrared rays intersect with light fired from the drones above, the illusion of deflecting the laser beam will be created.
The lightsabers are also likely to have haptic feedback - such as a pulse or a vibration - when the beams intersect.
But Disney has remained coy about whether the system will ever be seen in its parks.
A spokesman said: "We continuously innovate and file hundreds of patents that may or may not have any business unit application.
"We have nothing to announce about this at this time."
