Play Ball! A New Disney Patent Shows a Virtual Reality Baseball Experience!

Disney has some big innovators working behind the scenes!

Hall of fame baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. and Disney Sports Vice President Faron Kelley pose with Mickey Mouse at the Magic Kingdom Park as Ripken Baseball and Walt Disney World Resort jointly announced Tuesday the Ripken Experience is coming to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in 2020. ©Disney

We love keeping an eye out for Disney patents to see what kind of tech those innovators are working on — and what the innovations mean for the company and the future! Today, we spotted a new Disney patent for yet ANOTHER round of virtual reality tech, and this one has got a focus on the world of sports!

Disney published a patent last week for “Systems and Methods to Provide a Sports-based Interactive Experience.” Basically, Disney is working on a virtual reality sports program with the specific example of a VR baseball game!

©Disney

As you can see from the picture, this system would work in a way that combines the physical aspects of playing a sport, like baseball, with a virtual reality setting. The figures in the patent show that you could play a full baseball match on your own, with the other players created virtually. Well, to that we say, “Wii Sports, who?”

©Disney

In this instance, the player and the bat are real and in an open space. The bat is outfitted with sensors that inform the system of its movement. The rest of the game (players, ball, and all) would be virtually rendered. And it’s not just limited to baseball! This tech could be applied to another sport as well.

©Disney

This sort of system could be used in an enclosed space specifically made to match up with the experience, but if it were to use augmented reality, it could technically be safely played anywhere. The player would still be able to see the real world with the VR aspects imposed on top of it.

©Disney

That’s so cool! The patent is pretty vague so it’s not likely that Disney is actively planning on launching such an experience anytime soon, but it does show us one more facet of their extensive work in VR and AR tech! As always, stay tuned to DFB to learn more about Disney inventions.

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What do you think of this virtual baseball tech? Tell us in the comments!