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Robots can make people feel something not just by performing an astonishing feat, but by moving in ways that suggest a character has a mind and feelings of its own. In a 21 November 2023 IEEE Spectrum profile, Disney Imagineering research scientist Morgan Pope described that aim as using “electromagnetism to create emotions.” The profile shows two routes to it: spectacular aerial performance and small, vulnerable gestures that invite empathy.
What Pope means by using electromagnetism to create emotions
Pope’s phrase is not a claim that magnetism directly produces feelings in an audience. It describes the engineering behind animated movement: actuators and control systems use electromagnetic forces to move a robot, while designers shape those movements to make a character seem alive. The emotional response comes from what people see the robot do and how it does it.
“It’s not what it does, it’s how it does it,” Pope said in the profile. “It has to do it in a way that makes you feel like this is a real character, a real, live being.” A movement can communicate personality, intention or vulnerability even when the audience knows it is watching a machine.
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That question of audience response is central to the work: “What about this is making me feel something, what about it is connecting with me?” The profile’s examples suggest that connection can come from very different kinds of motion.
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Two different ways robot movement can connect with an audience
| Example | Movement and purpose | Intended audience effect |
|---|---|---|
| Stuntronic Spider-Man | A high-velocity aerial stunt, including a backflip described in the profile as reaching 20 meters into the air. | Spectacle: a seemingly superhuman performance that sustains the illusion of Spider-Man. |
| Rollerblading character prototype | Skating with awkwardness and falling, then struggling to get back up. | Relatability: the imperfect recovery can make the character seem vulnerable and invite empathy. |
The 20-meter figure is the profile’s description of the stunt, not a general measure or an independently verified specification. The contrast matters more than the height: one robot movement is designed to astonish, while the other uses recognizable difficulty to make a character feel familiar.
Stuntronic: acrobatics that preserve the character illusion
Pope helped build Stuntronic, the aerial stunt-double robot used in a Spider-Man performance at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus. The act is designed around both a human performer and the robot, rather than treating the machine as a standalone show. The Los Angeles Times report published 29 June 2021 describes the handoff as making the actor and robot appear to be one superhuman character. The robot’s landing is caught in a net kept out of the audience’s sight.
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That hidden recovery is part of the effect: what guests see is a continuous character performance, not a robot demonstration followed by visible safety handling. The profile also emphasizes the demands of working close to theme-park guests, where equipment must operate predictably and reliably through repeated shows, alongside elevated safety requirements.
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The other example in the IEEE Spectrum profile is a rollerblading character prototype shown at South by Southwest in Austin. Rather than appearing effortlessly skilled, it moved awkwardly and had to recover after falling. Pope’s explanation was simple: “You relate to the robot struggling, because we’ve all been flat on our backs and had to get up.”
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The scene draws on a familiar human experience. A stumble can suggest effort; the attempt to rise can read as persistence. Those signals may make a robot seem less like a polished machine and more like a character facing a problem. The profile presents this as an empathy-building prototype, not proof that every audience member responds the same way.
Why theme-park robotics has unusual constraints
Entertainment robots have to serve a performance while operating in a public setting. According to the profile, theme-park deployment calls for predictable operation, repeat-show reliability and elevated safety standards because robots may perform near guests. These demands shape both the movement and the staging: an impressive action must also be controllable, repeatable and compatible with the rest of the show.
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Stuntronic illustrates how those constraints can be addressed through choreography as well as engineering. A human performer, robot, hidden net and carefully designed transition all contribute to the same apparent character. The audience sees a seamless stunt; the performance depends on coordinated elements behind it.
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Pope’s path into entertainment robotics
The 2023 profile describes Pope as a Disney Imagineering research scientist working on robots for theme-park entertainment. It reports that he studied engineering at Harvard and mechanical engineering at Stanford, where his doctoral research focused on robot mobility, including SCAMP. That background connects the physical challenge of moving robots with the creative challenge of making movement legible and expressive.
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His advice to students, as reported in the profile, is to explore across disciplines and build things to find out which engineering work feels engaging. “Try to build things that make you happy,” he said. “Chase the things that bring you joy. Chase the things that are delightful.” A simple programmable robotics kit can offer a way to experiment with movement, but it would be an educational starting point, not a version of the Disney systems described here.
What the profile establishes—and what it does not
The reporting supports a clear picture of Pope’s approach and projects as described in 2023: use engineered motion to create character, whether through spectacular stunts or vulnerable behavior. It does not establish his current role or project portfolio as of 5 October 2026. The rollerblading character is described as a prototype shown at South by Southwest, not as a current attraction.
Sources: Edd Gent, “Imagineer Morgan Pope Uses Electromagnetism to Spark Emotions,” IEEE Spectrum, 21 November 2023; Los Angeles Times, Stuntronic report, 29 June 2021.
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