Disney Patents Foot Recognition Technology
by Cheryl Rosen /Photo: Chris Harrison
Talk about getting to know your customer. The Walt Disney Co. has been awarded a patent to track visitors’ shoes as they navigate its theme parks.
Mickey Mouse is hardly the new Big Brother, though. Disney says it has no plans to actually use the technology, which works by photographing your shoes as you enter the park and then at various points throughout your visit.
The goal, Disney says, is to gain insights about the paths guests follow and the rides they take.
The patent documents also note that the technology could be used to create a model of a guest’s foot that “can be used to identify a particular guest and the guest data can be used to output a customized guest appearance,” Fox News reported, allowing a robot to recognize and interact with him or her.
The technology could provide an alternative to more “invasive” biometric methods for identifying guests, like retinal and fingerprint identification, according to the patent filing.
Disney already knows more than most companies about its guests, thanks to MagicBands, RFIS bracelets and FastPasses.