A real corpse saber. How is this possible?
This, of course, is probably not the case. But when Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro ended his presentation on April 8 by swiping out a retractable lightsaber that had never been seen before – no video evidence – Disney and Star Wars fans went wild online. Speculation is rife, and much of it points to a 2018 patent for a ‘Sword device with retractable, internally illuminated blade’. I went through that night late at night and I was trying to figure out a way to show Edge readers how it has been working ever since. Heck, I even ordered some LED bracelets that hadn’t arrived yet.
But it looks like I would not need them, because VR developer Ben Ridout it has gotten better, which brilliantly illuminates the patented concept of Disney with a set of simple animations:
Done #Disney find a real job #ligsaber?
Yes, they have.
It will not melt through metal explosion doors or cut off your hand, but with a lighted blade that protrudes and retracts at the push of a button.
This animation shows the concept behind the technology. pic.twitter.com/e7fwP06CxF
– Ben Ridout (@benridout) 12 April 2021
Then extend the tires and raise the curve so that they can partially rotate around each other and form a complete cylinder. Manage this system with a motor so that both rollers can be extended at the push of a button and retract into synch. Now, you have a lightsaber! pic.twitter.com/B3lLMmclDN
– Ben Ridout (@benridout) 12 April 2021
Yes, that’s right – the magic here really comes down to some fine motorized tape measures. The patent even mentions a measuring tape of a ‘metal carpenter’ as inspiration.
According to the patent, the blade’s ‘blade’ consists of two coils of translucent material that lies flat when fully wound, like a tape measure inside the reel. When each ribbon is shot at the end, it bends in a semicircle that forms half of the blade. They are permanently mounted on a rounded light tip “tip” that also pulls along a series of flexible LEDs mounted on a third motorized coil within the frame of the light saber. The two halves of the blade are zipped together by a ‘blade shape’ when they leave the light saber, thus creating a single light saber beam.
Would such a light saber be stiff enough for a practice fight? Only Disney’s Imagineers can say for sure – but whatever it may be, it could be a game changer for the Light Saber community. We went in search of the ultimate Star Wars lamps in 2016, and although modern lightsaber props have incredible light, sound and detail, the basics have not changed in years: you generally choose between a glorified flashlight with a telescopic toy blade that can actually fit into a handle, or more generally, a fixed LED-filled tube that you must remove and store when you want to display your saber on a belt.
Now Disney may have created the full-size, equally illuminated, disappearing light saber blade of our dreams. Minus the whole part “cutting objects in half with a beam of energy” of course. I’m just wondering if this would be a prop for Disneyland actors, or the latest amazing toy I can not quite afford.