Disney Patent Foot Recognition System

Disney have applied for a patent on a machine that takes photos of guests shoes as they head into their theme parks.  According to the patent, a “system and method using foot recognition to create a customized guest experience.”

This new system would take a photo of a theme park guests feet and would work similar to MagicBands, allowing information such as name, age and hometown, to be known when a guest was on an attraction or at a meet & greet.  Allowing Disney character to call a person by their name straight away or to add person messages onto attractions, like we currently see with MagicBand holders on rides like It’s A Small World.

A Disney spokeswomen, Suzi Brown said “In our ongoing effort to relentlessly innovate and push the boundaries of creativity and technology to create immersive experiences and legendary guest service, we file many patents annually — some come to fruition and others do not.”

This new technology does allow Disney to track customer data and the president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, Dennis Speigel, said “the advantage of the foot camera is that it is a less invasive way to track customers and gather information than taking photographs of faces throughout a park.  The more information they have on the guest, the better experience for the guest and the more they know for continued marketing”.

While this idea does sound rather odd, the technology isn’t too far away from the MagicBand, and if it gives guests a better experience without being too intrusive, it could give guests not staying onsite with MagicBands a similar experience.

What do you think of Disney using foot recognition at the parks?