Imagineers Brought Fantastic 4’s HERBIE to Life in Just Three Months

As described in the newest episode of We Call It Imagineering, Disney brought HERBIE from The Fantastic Four: First Steps from concept to real-life robot in just three months. HERBIE RobotFirst Steps director Matt Shakman changed the design of HERBIE (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics) from the floating robot seen in the comics to a grounded version rolling on a ball so that Disney could more easily bring the character to life for parks guests. This required a collaboration between Imagineering, Live Entertainment, artists, engineers, designers, scientists, and character performers. In the film, HERBIE was accomplished using computer graphics and a prop that didn’t actually balance....