Innovating at Walt Disney Imagineering

Rahul Roy (MSR '24) knew about The Walt Disney Company as a young boy in India, but at that time, his exposure was mostly limited to Mickey Mouse and The Disney Channel.

This past summer, he saw a completely different side of the company.

Roy worked as a robotics localization and control intern for Walt Disney Imagineering, the research and development art of the company. The Imagineering website states that its mission is "making the impossible possible," and Roy said that is exactly what he experienced.

"What really stood out to me was the seamless blend of creativity and technology," he said. "Seeing how an idea could be brought to life in such a short time was inspiring. My team consisted of some of the smartest and most creative people I've ever met, and watching them turn the impossible into reality was nothing short of magical."

Roy worked with a specialized team focused on underwater technologies. His primary responsibility was to source and implement a localization package for an underwater robot. That meant he needed to integrate multiple sensors to ensure accurate navigation.

He also worked on controls to enable autonomous navigation.

The work required a lot of prototyping and testing. The first part of his internship was spent mostly in the workshop, where he wrote code, integrated data, and then tested the system. After that, Roy's work was mostly at a pool, where he tested the controls and worked to make the robot navigate autonomously.

It ultimately was a blend of coding, testing, and hands-on experimentation.

It also was an opportunity to apply lessons learned in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Robotics (MSR) program.

Roy did not have much robotics industry experience when he started in MSR. He earned a Bachelor of Technology from India's Manipal Institute of Technology and was a robotics project intern at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, also in India.

MSR helped Roy become a better learner — a skill he believes is critical to succeed in the field.

"MSR’s project-based, hands-on approach really prepared me for the fast-paced nature of robotics, where you can’t possibly know everything but need to constantly learn and adapt," he said. "Being thrown into the deep end and learning to swim was exactly what I needed, and that experience made me comfortable with prototyping and taking on challenges during my internship. Even when I didn’t initially know how to do something, I had the confidence to figure it out, and that’s a mindset I owe to MSR."

Roy's early days in MSR also showed him the value of being part of a high-quality team environment. It was a lesson he saw reinforced at Walt Disney Imagineering.

"Working with such talented and supportive people pushed me to reach my full potential, both in terms of technical skills and creativity," he said. "They challenged me to grow and made me realize how essential a strong team is to achieving great outcomes."

Roy described the internship as a transformational experience, one that allowed him to grow as a person and a professional. The skills and mindset he developed will continue to influence how he approaches his work and looks to grow as an individual.

It's one of the many reasons Roy is grateful MSR encourages students to pursue an internship during their time in the program.

"While MSR provides a great foundation by allowing us to build projects in teams across multiple domains, similar to a startup, the opportunity to work with industry experts and see how companies apply the latest technology is crucial," he said. "It gives us insight into how things work outside of the academic environment — how innovations are executed, the challenges that come with real-world applications, and the importance of collaboration in a professional setting.

"This exposure helps bridge the gap between theory and practice," Roy added, "preparing us for the constantly evolving field of robotics."