Lanny Smoot has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame / Lanny Smoot has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Following a decades-long career with Disney, Imagineer Lanny Smoot has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His time at Disney has seen him create inventions that include the extendable lightsaber used by Disney Live Entertainment, X-ray flashlights and the interactive Magic PlayFloor aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy ships.
With more than 100 lifetime patents, Smoot is the Walt Disney Company’s most prolific inventor and is only the second person from the Walt Disney Company to be inducted – the first being Walt Disney himself, who was honoured posthumously in 2000 for the multiplane camera.
Smoot is currently hard at work on the HoloTile – a multidirectional floor inspired by the Holodeck in Star Trek (Smoot is a big Star Trek fan). The modular floor is made up of a series of circular tiles that shift and rotate as people walk on them, and it enables multiple people to use it at the same time without interfering with one another’s experiences. The technology has been hailed as a major advance in theme park and virtual reality technology, with potential applications including shared virtual reality spaces, theatrical productions and theme park rides.
Smoot spoke to Attractions Management about what the honour means to him, his latest invention and addressing the lack of diversity in the industry.
What does it mean to you to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame? An inventor being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame can be equated to an actor receiving an Academy Award. It’s the epitome of recognition for those of us who love to think up new ideas, and to bring them to life
When I first learned of my induction, I was extremely happy, especially as I thought that I was the first person at the Walt Disney Company to have received the honour. Soon after, one of our Disney media specialists told me that I was not the first person to receive the honour, rather Walt Disney himself was the first. Instantly I felt a lump in my throat and was completely humbled, as I realised that I was receiving an honour that only Walt himself had received at our company.
What have been the highlights of your career with Disney up to this point? The highlights revolve around having worked on several classic attractions in our theme parks, for instance, enabling Madame Leota – a disembodied head inside our Disneyland Haunted Mansion that used to sit on a Séance Table – to fly over the table to the amazement of our guests.
I’ve created changing portraits that instantly transform from pleasant to ghoulish at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion, and I’ve contributed to the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland.
My technologies have allowed guests to learn how to battle laser blasts with the world’s most realistic, fully extending, super-bright lightsaber, and I created an attraction that allowed guests to use X-Ray flashlights to learn how to keep their homes safe from fire hazards [Where’s the Fire in Epcot’s Future World].
Do you have an invention that you’re proudest of? The project that I’m most excited about is one I’m working on now – it’s what I have called the HoloTile Floor. It can move any number of objects (or people), on its surface in any direction.
When people wear VR headsets on the HoloTile Floor, they’re effectively in the Holodeck, a place where they can walk around in real, or fantastical environments, and in any direction in an unlimited manner. They won’t walk off the floor’s surface or bump into others on it. In the not-too-distant future, this technology may help virtual reality gamers to stop tripping over the coffee table.
What excites you most about the HoloTile Floor? We see the HoloTile Floor as a jack of all trades, for instance allowing dancers on a HoloTile-equipped theatrical stage to move in ways that would be impossible on an ordinary stage. It will also enable Disney Imagineers to step into their architectural creations even before they’re built. This will shorten design times and make for even better products.
Can you share details of anything else you’re working on? I’m always working on multiple ideas at the same time. I recently created the technology behind our Water Harps at the Journey of Water attraction at EPCOT at Walt Disney World. These allow our guests to strum streams of water as they play the strings of an actual musical harp.
You encourage students of colour to pursue careers in STEM. People of colour are also under-represented in the themed entertainment industry. How should this lack of diversity be addressed? I believe that what youths can see, they can be. When I was a child, I did not have accessible role models such as working engineers.
My father was a bit of an itinerant inventor, and when I was quite young – only five years old or so – he introduced me to electricity by bringing home a dry cell battery, a bell and a small light bulb.
My father got the bell to ring and the bulb to light up – that light lit my entire career in engineering and the sciences.
I was very lucky to have that early exposure and I believe that early exposure to many more kids would bring more young people of colour into the area of theatrical technologies, as well as all industries.
Where and when are you happiest? I’m happiest when I’m in an electronics lab, with a fresh new idea in hand.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 3
Multimedia: Sakchin Bessette
How did the team at Moment Factory go from designing visuals for raves to illuminating the Sagrada Familia and creating stage shows for Madonna? The co-founder shares the journey
Museums: Roll of honour
From the Rijksmuseum’s first family exhibition to a 4D experience that wows on a budget, we check out Museum + Heritage Award winners
Theme parks: Cecil Magpuri
Work has begun on the first Dragon Ball theme park, and it’s set to take theming to a whole new level, according to its designer
Museums: Rise up
Filled with colour, music, technology and storytelling, the John K Randle Center is a fitting celebration of Yoruban culture and history, says its architect Seun Oduwole
Experiences: Flight of fancy
Airbnb is diving into the world of immersive experiences with its new Icons initiative. What does this mean for attractions?
Immersive experience: Andrew McGuinness
As Layered Reality prepares to launch its highly-anticipated Elvis Experience, we speak to its CEO about the business of wowing visitors
Zoos: Making a difference
Visiting zoos and aquaria inspires people to act more sustainably, finds a study from the University of Sheffield and Chester Zoo
Tourism: Vertical reality
From energy-generating viewing pods to world-class art installations, a new generation of vertical attractions is shaking up the scene. Dr Terry Stevens investigates
Lanny Smoot has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame / Lanny Smoot has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Following a decades-long career with Disney, Imagineer Lanny Smoot has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His time at Disney has seen him create inventions that include the extendable lightsaber used by Disney Live Entertainment, X-ray flashlights and the interactive Magic PlayFloor aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy ships.
With more than 100 lifetime patents, Smoot is the Walt Disney Company’s most prolific inventor and is only the second person from the Walt Disney Company to be inducted – the first being Walt Disney himself, who was honoured posthumously in 2000 for the multiplane camera.
Smoot is currently hard at work on the HoloTile – a multidirectional floor inspired by the Holodeck in Star Trek (Smoot is a big Star Trek fan). The modular floor is made up of a series of circular tiles that shift and rotate as people walk on them, and it enables multiple people to use it at the same time without interfering with one another’s experiences. The technology has been hailed as a major advance in theme park and virtual reality technology, with potential applications including shared virtual reality spaces, theatrical productions and theme park rides.
Smoot spoke to Attractions Management about what the honour means to him, his latest invention and addressing the lack of diversity in the industry.
What does it mean to you to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame? An inventor being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame can be equated to an actor receiving an Academy Award. It’s the epitome of recognition for those of us who love to think up new ideas, and to bring them to life
When I first learned of my induction, I was extremely happy, especially as I thought that I was the first person at the Walt Disney Company to have received the honour. Soon after, one of our Disney media specialists told me that I was not the first person to receive the honour, rather Walt Disney himself was the first. Instantly I felt a lump in my throat and was completely humbled, as I realised that I was receiving an honour that only Walt himself had received at our company.
What have been the highlights of your career with Disney up to this point? The highlights revolve around having worked on several classic attractions in our theme parks, for instance, enabling Madame Leota – a disembodied head inside our Disneyland Haunted Mansion that used to sit on a Séance Table – to fly over the table to the amazement of our guests.
I’ve created changing portraits that instantly transform from pleasant to ghoulish at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion, and I’ve contributed to the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland.
My technologies have allowed guests to learn how to battle laser blasts with the world’s most realistic, fully extending, super-bright lightsaber, and I created an attraction that allowed guests to use X-Ray flashlights to learn how to keep their homes safe from fire hazards [Where’s the Fire in Epcot’s Future World].
Do you have an invention that you’re proudest of? The project that I’m most excited about is one I’m working on now – it’s what I have called the HoloTile Floor. It can move any number of objects (or people), on its surface in any direction.
When people wear VR headsets on the HoloTile Floor, they’re effectively in the Holodeck, a place where they can walk around in real, or fantastical environments, and in any direction in an unlimited manner. They won’t walk off the floor’s surface or bump into others on it. In the not-too-distant future, this technology may help virtual reality gamers to stop tripping over the coffee table.
What excites you most about the HoloTile Floor? We see the HoloTile Floor as a jack of all trades, for instance allowing dancers on a HoloTile-equipped theatrical stage to move in ways that would be impossible on an ordinary stage. It will also enable Disney Imagineers to step into their architectural creations even before they’re built. This will shorten design times and make for even better products.
Can you share details of anything else you’re working on? I’m always working on multiple ideas at the same time. I recently created the technology behind our Water Harps at the Journey of Water attraction at EPCOT at Walt Disney World. These allow our guests to strum streams of water as they play the strings of an actual musical harp.
You encourage students of colour to pursue careers in STEM. People of colour are also under-represented in the themed entertainment industry. How should this lack of diversity be addressed? I believe that what youths can see, they can be. When I was a child, I did not have accessible role models such as working engineers.
My father was a bit of an itinerant inventor, and when I was quite young – only five years old or so – he introduced me to electricity by bringing home a dry cell battery, a bell and a small light bulb.
My father got the bell to ring and the bulb to light up – that light lit my entire career in engineering and the sciences.
I was very lucky to have that early exposure and I believe that early exposure to many more kids would bring more young people of colour into the area of theatrical technologies, as well as all industries.
Where and when are you happiest? I’m happiest when I’m in an electronics lab, with a fresh new idea in hand.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 3
Multimedia: Sakchin Bessette
How did the team at Moment Factory go from designing visuals for raves to illuminating the Sagrada Familia and creating stage shows for Madonna? The co-founder shares the journey
Museums: Roll of honour
From the Rijksmuseum’s first family exhibition to a 4D experience that wows on a budget, we check out Museum + Heritage Award winners
Theme parks: Cecil Magpuri
Work has begun on the first Dragon Ball theme park, and it’s set to take theming to a whole new level, according to its designer
Museums: Rise up
Filled with colour, music, technology and storytelling, the John K Randle Center is a fitting celebration of Yoruban culture and history, says its architect Seun Oduwole
Experiences: Flight of fancy
Airbnb is diving into the world of immersive experiences with its new Icons initiative. What does this mean for attractions?
Immersive experience: Andrew McGuinness
As Layered Reality prepares to launch its highly-anticipated Elvis Experience, we speak to its CEO about the business of wowing visitors
Zoos: Making a difference
Visiting zoos and aquaria inspires people to act more sustainably, finds a study from the University of Sheffield and Chester Zoo
Tourism: Vertical reality
From energy-generating viewing pods to world-class art installations, a new generation of vertical attractions is shaking up the scene. Dr Terry Stevens investigates
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
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