Animatronics
An animatronic is a puppet controlled via electronics to move fluently. Seen often in the entertainment business, animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and have been used to portray characters in films, video games, and theme park attractions.
Animatronics are a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy and mechatronics. Figures can be implemented with both computer and human control, including teleoperation. Motion actuators are often used to imitate muscle movements and create realistic motions. Figures are usually encased in body shells and flexible skins made of hard or soft plastic materials and finished with colors, hair, feathers and other components to make them more lifelike. Animatronics stem from a long tradition of mechanical automata powered by hydraulics, pneumatics and clockwork.
