Artificial eye with an internal electromagnetic drive

An animatronic eye for use in an animatronic figure, comprising:

• a spherical, hollow outer shell for mounting onto the animatronic figure;
• a volume of liquid within the outer shell;
• a hollow inner sphere positioned in the liquid and within the outer shell;
• and
• a drive assembly comprising a set of magnetic elements provided within the inner sphere and a set of electromagnetic drive coils also positioned within the inner sphere, wherein the electromagnetic drive coils are selectively operable to apply magnetic drive forces upon the magnetic elements to rotate the inner sphere about a center point in yaw and pitch directions.

An apparatus for use as an artificial eye, comprising:

• an outer shell comprising a transparent forward portion joined with a rear portion;
• an inner shell with a semi-spherical shape defining an inner void space;
• and
• an electromagnetic drive comprising a hub positioned within the inner void space of defined by the inner shell, wherein the electromagnetic drive supports the inner shell at a distance from inner surfaces of the outer shell and includes a pivot joint within the hub allowing movement of the inner shell in at least one direction.