Virtual gluing techniques
Patent Information
- Application Number
- ES2024221864T
- Authority / Receiving Office
- ES · ES
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2017-11-09
- Filing Date
- 2017-11-09
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-31
- Estimated Expiration
- 2037-11-09
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Virtual queuing techniques This application claims priority over U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 419,837, entitled "Systems and Procedures for Pre-scheduling in Virtual Queueing Systems," filed November 9, 2016; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 419,833, entitled "Systems and Procedures for Automatic Monitoring and Dynamic Adjustment of a Queue," filed November 9, 2016. Background This disclosure relates generally to the field of amusement parks. Specifically, the realizations in this disclosure relate to techniques for managing amusement park experiences, including queuing for rides. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of amusement parks has grown substantially. To meet this increasing demand, amusement parks have expanded by adding attractions and space. The addition of attractions (e.g., rides, restaurants, shops, and shows) generally provides an amusement park with additional capacity to handle a larger number of visitors. However, additional attractions also often offer potential visitors an incentive to visit the amusement park. Therefore, while a particular amusement park may add extra capacity, this additional capacity does not always result in greater capacity for visitors to participate in the park's entertainment (e.g., shopping, watching shows, horseback riding) or reduced wait times for rides. This is because there is often a corresponding increase in attendance.Furthermore, for operational efficiency, it is often desirable to limit the availability of attractions during off-peak hours. Therefore, queuing for rides, which can limit participation in park activities, is a persistent problem for amusement parks. While visitors have demanded bigger, better, and more elaborate attractions, they also require and expect a positive overall experience. Providing a positive overall experience for amusement park visitors involves addressing certain issues related to ride queues. In fact, it is now recognized that negative experiences with queue times can discourage park visitors from returning to a particular amusement park. Furthermore, visitors may be unable to access amusement park businesses (e.g., shops) due to the time they spend waiting in line. Indeed, in the past, visitors would wait in line for hours to experience some of the most popular attractions at an amusement park.Furthermore, it is now recognized that park capacity does not always result in efficient utilization of that capacity by visitors due to individual visitor preferences for certain attractions over others. Consequently, it is now recognized that improving queuing systems and procedures in amusement parks is desirable. Patent document WO 2016 / 028895 A1 describes a system comprising a plurality of virtual queuing stations associated with respective attractions within a theme park and a virtual queue control system configured to maintain the respective virtual queues for the respective attractions and to communicate with the plurality of virtual queuing stations. The virtual queue control system is configured to receive communications from the plurality of virtual queuing stations and add visitors to the respective virtual queues based on those communications. Summary According to the present invention, a virtual tailing system is described according to claim 1 and a virtual tailing method according to claim 9. Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in claims 2 to 8 and 10 to 15. These embodiments will be described in the following description. These embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention only if they conform to claims 1 or 9. The following are summaries of certain embodiments consistent in scope with the subject matter originally claimed. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure but are intended only to provide a brief overview of certain disclosed embodiments. In fact, this disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments described below. According to one embodiment, a virtual queuing system is provided. The virtual queuing system includes a virtual queuing controller comprising a processor and memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor and is configured to receive a request. The request is associated with a specific visitor and aims to obtain a position in a virtual queue for an attraction comprising a plurality of attractions. The virtual queue allows the specific visitor access to one of the plurality of attractions, and visitors in the virtual queue are distributed among the plurality of attractions via the virtual queue.The memory is also configured to assign the specific visitor to a position in the virtual queue in response to a request, receive attraction schedule data including information about changes in the status of specific attractions, and determine a wait time for the specific visitor at the attraction based, at least, on that visitor's position in the virtual queue, the attraction schedule data, and the attraction's visitor flow history. The virtual queue system also includes communication circuits configured to send a signal to a device associated with the visitor indicating the wait time for the attraction. According to another embodiment, a virtual queue system is provided. The virtual queue system includes at least one monitoring device configured to monitor the current queue conditions for an attraction and issue a queue condition signal. The virtual queue system also includes a virtual queue controller comprising a controller and communication circuitry. The virtual queue controller is configured to receive the queue condition signal. The virtual queue controller is also configured to determine a current wait time for the attraction based on at least the queue condition signal and preset trip scheduling data for the attraction, wherein the preset trip scheduling data is indicative of a closure of a subset of a plurality of the attraction's trips.The virtual queue controller is further configured to emit a queue modification signal in response to the current determined timeout being outside of a predetermined timeout interval. According to another embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes the steps of providing attraction schedule data for an attraction comprising a plurality of attractions to a virtual queue controller, wherein the attraction schedule data comprises scheduled times associated with the closing of a subset of the plurality of attractions, calculating variable visitor flow data for the attraction, wherein the variable visitor flow data is calculated based on at least current visitor flow data, attraction schedule data, and historical visitor flow data for the attraction;determining a current waiting time for the next available position in a virtual attraction queue based, at least, on the next available position and on variable visitor flow data, wherein the current waiting time overlaps with scheduled times such that the subset of the plurality of attractions experiences closure during the current waiting time, and wherein the current waiting time is calculated based on first variable visitor flow data indicative of a first visitor flow during closure and second variable visitor flow data indicative of a second visitor flow during periods outside of closure; and emitting a current waiting time signal to a display unit, a visitor-associated device, or a combination thereof, indicating the current waiting time to queue for the attraction. Drawings These and other features, aspects, and advantages of this disclosure will be better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters represent similar parts in all the drawings, where: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a theme park that includes a virtual queuing system according to current techniques. Figure 2 is a flowchart of a procedure that uses a virtual queuing system according to current techniques. Figure 3 is a block diagram of a virtual queuing system according to current techniques. Figure 4 is a block diagram of a virtual queuing system that includes a monitoring device according to current techniques. Figure 5 is a graph showing a waiting time interval for a virtual queue according to current techniques. Detailed description Theme park or amusement park attractions have become increasingly popular, and a variety of rides have been created to provide riders with unique visual and kinetic experiences. Visitors accessing the many attractions at an amusement park can use a virtual queue system that places them in a virtual queue instead of a physical one, allowing them to enjoy other features of the park while they move up in the virtual queue. To help visitors plan their day, the virtual queue system can estimate wait times (for example, the amount of time before a visitor can access an attraction) and provide a reminder that their ride time is approaching.However, when determining wait times for visitors to each attraction, some virtual queuing systems assume average wait times or average visitor return rates, or they may use predetermined or preconfigured wait times for a static number of rides (e.g., attraction visitor acceptance characteristics, such as single ride vehicles, single lanes on a multi-lane slide, single tracks on a multi-lane ride, etc.) within a specific attraction. Using data based on a static number of rides to determine wait times may not react dynamically to queue conditions (e.g., ride closures and openings at an attraction).In fact, such virtual queuing systems can provide inaccurate waiting times for visitors, which can lead to excessive or poor waiting times and produce inefficient operation of the amusement park attractions. With this in mind, certain embodiments of this disclosure relate to virtual queuing systems that determine wait times by dynamically monitoring and / or evaluating the virtual queue based at least on queue conditions and scheduling information for the amusement park attraction. These embodiments facilitate the dynamic modification of queue operations in response to feedback related to wait times. Specifically, certain embodiments relate to determining wait times by monitoring and evaluating dynamic variations in opening / closing times for multiple attractions (or multiple rides within a specific attraction) in addition to queue conditions that determine wait times for the attractions.Specifically, the virtual queuing system can be configured to use scheduled times for each attraction, current or real-time visitor throughput for an attraction, estimated future visitor throughput, historical throughput for each attraction, and / or historical queue wait time information to accurately determine wait times for a particular attraction and avoid communicating inaccurate wait times to visitors. In this way, the virtual queuing system can help prevent underutilization of trips, trip congestion, and / or inefficient use of trip resources over a period of time.Furthermore, certain realizations of this disclosure relate to the automatic or dynamic modification of queue operations or the actual virtual queue in response to poor or excessive wait times to prevent further inefficient operations, underutilization of trips, trip overcrowding, and / or waste of travel resources over a period of time. Additionally, the virtual queue system can be configured to monitor and track how visitors transition or move along the queue to provide more granular control of the virtual queue. Consequently, based on more granular control of the virtual queue, the virtual queue system can be configured to have automatic and dynamic control of access to attractions, thereby preventing trip hunger, congestion, or waste of other travel resources. Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a theme park 110 with at least one amusement park attraction 112 that can be accessed via a virtual queue controlled by a virtual queuing system 114. Certain attractions 112 may feature a plurality of rides 118. For example, in the embodiment shown, a water slide attraction 112a may include multiple lanes or slides (for example, shown as rides 118a, 118b, and 118c) that are accessed via a single virtual queue, which allows access to a loading area 116 for visitors. That is, visitors take a position in a virtual queue for attraction 112a to access loading area 116. Once in loading area 116, visitors are distributed among separate slides (i.e., rides 118a, 118b and 118c) to experience attraction 112.Therefore, in the embodiment represented as an example, attraction 112a is capable of accommodating multiple visitors (e.g., two, three, or more) at a time. However, visitors may access their assigned ride 118 at different rates, leading to dynamically changing real-time visitor throughput rates for each ride 118 of the multi-ride attraction 112. For example, some visitors may hesitate longer than others, resulting in a temporarily slower real-time visitor throughput rate on one ride 118 compared to another. Furthermore, ride operators may have varying efficiencies in distributing and loading visitors onto their respective ride 118s.Consequently, determining an overall visitor throughput for a multi-ride attraction 112 can be complex and may involve taking into account different real-time visitor throughput rates on each individual ride 118 of attraction 112 to determine an overall visitor throughput for attraction 112. While the depicted features are shown in the context of water attractions, such as water slides, it should be understood that other multi-ride attractions are also included. Furthermore, the rides of an individual attraction may include any suitable number of rides (slides, tracks, paths, vehicles, etc.) to accommodate any suitable number of visitors, all of whom are accessed through a single virtual queue for the attraction. Additionally, the theme park may also feature other attractions that do not include multiple rides, such as single-ride attractions. In one embodiment, through the virtual queuing system 114, visitors are assigned a position in a virtual queue for attraction 112 of the amusement park after submitting a request from a device 120 associated with the visitor (e.g., a smartphone, visitor wristband) or a visitor kiosk 121, and it is not necessary to physically queue to enter attraction 112 until a designated time. Therefore, visitors using a virtual queue can spend less time waiting in lines during their visit to the theme park 110. Furthermore, the virtual queue data provides guidance to the theme park for scheduling attraction openings and closings to optimize visitor throughput and the efficiency of the amusement park's attractions. In some embodiments, the virtual queuing system has a plurality of virtual queues, each corresponding to a separate amusement park attraction (e.g., 112a and 112b). To help visitors determine which virtual queue to join, the virtual queuing system 114 is configured to emit a wait time signal 122 indicating the current wait times for each attraction 112 in the amusement park. A display unit 126 may be configured to receive the wait time signal 122 and display the current wait times for visitors within the theme park 110. The display unit 126 may be a central display unit configured to display the current wait times for a plurality of attractions in the amusement park.However, in some embodiments, the display unit 126 may be a localized display unit configured to show the current wait time for a single attraction in an amusement park. In another embodiment, a visitor-associated device 120 (e.g., a smartphone, visitor wristband, visitor tracker, etc.) may receive the wait time signal 122 and display the current wait times for a visitor (e.g., a text message, a phone app notification, etc.). In certain implementations, the timeout signal 122 transmits the current wait time, a visitor wait time (i.e., a wait time for an individual visitor in the virtual queue), or some combination thereof. The current wait time indicates the time a visitor not in the queue should expect to wait before entering amusement park attraction 112 if they join the virtual queue at that moment. Conversely, the visitor wait time indicates the time an individual visitor, who already has a position in the virtual queue, still has to wait before accessing amusement park attraction 112. Thus, the visitor wait time corresponds to a specific position for an individual visitor already queuing in the virtual queue, while the current wait time corresponds to the next available (i.e., unassigned) position in the virtual queue. In one embodiment, the virtual queue system 114 determines wait times based at least on scheduling information or ride schedule data for attraction 112. The ride schedule data includes planned ride openings and closings for attraction 112 at specified times during the theme park's operating hours, as well as dynamic openings or closings in response to desired rider flow. In the depicted embodiment, attraction 112a includes three rides 118a, 118b, and 118c (e.g., slides, ride vehicles, seats, etc.) that are accessed via a single virtual queue. One or more of the three rides 118 can be closed during the park's operating hours, e.g., at specific times determined by, or included in, an attraction schedule, for the purpose of increasing the attraction's efficiency.For example, each of the three 118 rides may have a historical average visitor throughput potential of 120 visitors per hour. Therefore, in the depicted implementation, a second 118b ride and a third 118c ride may be closed during times of day when visitor throughput is historically low. When visitor throughput is low, opening only the first 118a ride may allow the attraction to maintain sufficient visitor throughput to keep wait times low while requiring fewer employees to operate the 118a ride. Conversely, when visitor throughput is historically high, the attraction may open the second 118b ride and the third 118c ride to increase visitor throughput in order to minimize wait times.Because the opening and closing times of attraction 112 dynamically change visitor throughput in real time and affect future visitor throughput during closure times, having the virtual queue system 114 determine wait times based at least on scheduling information can provide more accurate wait times for visitors. Therefore, scheduling information regarding dates, times, and other details concerning ride openings and closings is sent to a virtual queue controller 130 of the virtual queue system 114. In some embodiments, the scheduling information is automatically transmitted to the virtual queue controller 130 from a theme park database. In other embodiments, a user can manually access or modify the scheduling information for the virtual queue controller using an operator interface 132. Figure 2 is a flowchart of a procedure 234 for determining the current wait time (e.g., for a visitor who has not yet queued) and the visitor wait time for visitors in the virtual queue of attraction 112 using a virtual queuing system 114 according to present realizations. The procedure includes providing trip scheduling data for attraction 112 to the virtual queue controller 114, wherein the trip scheduling data includes specified times for one or more trips to open and close (block 236), and wherein opening and closing one or more trips accordingly increases or decreases the estimated visitor throughput of the attraction; calculating variable visitor throughput data, wherein the variable visitor throughput data is calculated based at least on the trip scheduling data and historical visitor throughput data for the attraction (block 238);determine a current wait time for the next available position in a virtual queue for attraction 112 based on at least the next available position and the visitor's variable flow data (block 240), issue a wait time signal to a display unit, a device associated with the visitor, or a combination thereof, indicate the current wait time for the next visitor queuing for attraction 112 (block 242), assign a visitor to a position in a virtual queue for an attraction as exposed to a visitor queue request (block 244), determine a visitor wait time for the visitor based on at least the position in the virtual queue and the visitor's variable flow data (block 246),and send a timeout signal to the device associated with the visitor indicating the visitor's waiting time (block 248). Details of aspects of procedure 234 will be discussed in more detail in this document with respect to the related system features. In certain embodiments, procedure 234 includes the step of additionally calculating variable flow data based on real-time or current visitor performance data. In some embodiments, procedure 234 includes the step of providing queue condition data for attraction 112 to a virtual queue controller 114, wherein the queue condition data includes at least current visitor flow data for the amusement park attraction. In some implementations, virtual queue controller 130 is configured to continuously or periodically determine the visitor's timeout and to continuously send a timeout signal to the device associated with visitor 120, indicating an updated visitor timeout. In other implementations, virtual queue controller 130 is configured to determine the visitor timeout in response to a visitor update request. Virtual queue controller 130 can limit the number of update requests a visitor can issue. In other implementations, virtual queue controller 130 can limit the rate at which visitors can issue update requests.In some implementations, virtual queue controller 130 is configured to emit a timeout signal when the virtual queue controller determines that the visitor's timeout has changed by more than a predetermined amount of time. For example, virtual queue controller 130 might emit a new timeout signal when the visitor's timeout has changed by more than two minutes. Figure 3 is a block diagram of the virtual queue system 314. The virtual queue system includes a virtual queue controller 330 (for example, the virtual queue controller 130) communicating with the visitor-associated device 320, the display unit 326, or a combination thereof. To enter the virtual queue for an attraction 112, the visitor-associated device 320 transmits a queue request signal 350 to the virtual queue controller 330 in response to an input from a visitor. The virtual queue controller 330 receives the queue request signal 350, determines a wait time for the visitor, and sends a wait time signal 322 to the visitor-associated device 320, the display unit 326, or a combination thereof.The device associated with visitor 320 and the display unit 326 are configured to receive the timeout signal 322 and display the visitor's wait time. To enable these communications, the device associated with visitor 320, the display unit 326, and the virtual queue controller 330 may include communication circuits 352, such as antennas, radio transceiver circuits, signal processing hardware and / or software (e.g., hardware or software filters, A / D converters, multiplexing amplifiers), or a combination thereof. The communication circuit 352 can be configured to communicate via wireless or wired communication paths using IR wireless communications, satellite communications, broadcasting, microwave radio, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, UHF, NFC, etc.This communication may also include intermediate communication devices, such as radio towers, cell phone towers, etc. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 330 may include a memory device 354a that stores instructions executable by a processor 356a to perform the control procedures and actions described herein. For example, the processor 356a may execute instructions to dynamically evaluate virtual queue conditions and determine visitor wait times based on visitor performance inputs 358 and trip scheduling data inputs 360 received by the virtual queue controller 330. Trip scheduling data inputs may be received via user input, from memory storage, and / or via cloud services. The virtual queue controller 330 may receive real-time scheduling (or rescheduling) information and may be configured to update wait times based on the updated schedule.In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 330 can receive and use additional inputs in combination with the travel scheduling data inputs 360 and the visitor throughput inputs 358 when determining wait times. In addition, in certain embodiments, the processor 356a can use historical queue condition data inputs 362 (e.g., historical weather information, past visitor behavior within a particular trip / attraction, calendar information (e.g., time of day, day of the week, holidays, etc.), demographic information, number of visitors within a group(s), etc.) in combination with trip scheduling data inputs 360 and / or visitor performance inputs 358 when determining wait times. For example, the processor 356a can take into account historically slower people or colder season conditions when providing wait times. As a further example, in certain embodiments, the processor 356a can use various visitor characteristics (e.g., type, gender, age, number, etc.).within the queue, in combination with the trip scheduling data inputs 360 and the visitor performance inputs 358, to determine waiting times. While the visitor performance inputs 358, the trip scheduling data inputs 360, and the historical queue condition data inputs 362 are represented as being received through an operator interface 332, it should be understood that the various inputs directed to the virtual queue controller 330 can be received from other system components 314. In one embodiment, the visitor performance inputs 358 comprise real-time performance information that is transmitted to the virtual queue controller 330 based on the interaction of the visitor-associated device 320 with a registration device or turnstile or passing through a gate at each attraction 112.For example, when each visitor enters attraction 112, the visitor ID information associated with the visitor's device 320 is read by a reader comprising a communication circuit and associated with the attraction. In one embodiment, each individual ride 118 of attraction 112 is configured to provide visitor ID from a reader located at the top or beginning of each ride 118. The visitor ID information, the associated attraction information 112, and / or the ride information 118 and timestamp can be provided to the virtual queue controller 330 as inputs to determine real-time dynamic visitor throughput (e.g., visitors / hour).Additionally, attraction 112 can also include a reader at the exit of a ride to track the total time through the ride 118 as a variable for determining real-time visitor performance. In another embodiment, real-time visitor performance can be based on operator information. For example, a ride operator can track a number of visitors and periodically provide visitor numbers to the operator interface 332. Furthermore, the virtual queue controller 330 can store visitor performance information to update historical queue condition entries 362 using acquired visitor performance data. The virtual queue controller 330's processor 356a may include one or more processing devices, and the memory may include one or more tangible, non-transient, machine-readable media. By way of example, such machine-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, or optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures that can be accessed by the processor or by other processor-based devices (e.g., mobile devices). For example, the virtual queue controller 330 may be accessed by an operator interface 332 (e.g., a computer-based workstation or a mobile device, and / or may include an input / output interface 364 and a display). In certain embodiments, the device associated with visitor 320, which has a 356b processor and 354b of memory, can be either a personal visitor device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.) or a park queue device assigned to the visitor (e.g., smart wristbands, wearable communication devices, etc.). Park queue devices include software for viewing wait times and submitting queue requests. Visitors using personal visitor devices can access this software (e.g., a web-based program, smartphone app, downloadable program, etc.). For example, a theme park ticket or confirmation email might include details for finding the software, as well as a username, access code, or a combination thereof, to access it.Personal information associated with a visitor (height, weight, age, and other demographic data) may be linked to the username and / or access code, so that the visitor's identification information can be transmitted with the queue request signal. A visitor using park queuing devices may have their visitor information loaded into the park queuing device when the device is assigned to the visitor. The 330 virtual queue controller may use visitor identification information to determine wait times as provided herein. In certain embodiments, the system may include a queuing station (e.g., a visitor kiosk 121) that includes a processor and memory and is configured to provide an additional resource for visitors to view times and submit queue requests. Visitors can access the queuing function at the queuing station using a form of visitor identification (e.g., username, access code, card, RF wristband, personal information, etc.). Queuing stations may be arranged in various locations around the theme park 110. In some embodiments, at least one queuing station is arranged near the entrance to each attraction 112, so that visitors have a means of queuing for the attraction 112 at a location close to the attraction 112.In some embodiments, queue stations may allow visitors to queue for the nearest attraction. In other embodiments, general queue stations are located throughout the theme park, which can be used to queue for attractions within the theme park. In certain embodiments, the display unit 326 is configured to receive the wait time signal 322 from the virtual queue controller 330 and display the current wait times for attractions 112. In some embodiments, at least one display unit 326 is arranged near an entrance to each attraction 112. The display unit can be configured to show only the current wait time for the attraction 112 nearest to the display unit. In other embodiments, general display units are arranged in general locations (e.g., dining areas, walking paths, etc.) around the theme park 110. The general display units can show the current wait times for a plurality of attractions 112. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the virtual queuing system 414, which includes a monitoring device 466. In this embodiment, the monitoring device 466 may have a communication circuit 452d to establish communication with the virtual queuing controller 430. The monitoring device 466 may also have a processor 456c and a memory device 454c. The monitoring device 466 is configured to monitor and / or determine the current queue conditions and send a queue condition signal 468 to the virtual queuing controller 430. In some embodiments, attraction 112 has both a physical queue and a virtual queue. In such embodiments, a visitor first enters a virtual queue before entering the physical queue. The physical queue provides a buffer or waiting area for attraction 112 to increase its efficiency.For example, if a visitor does not arrive at attraction 112 at the time designated by the virtual queue system 414, without a physical buffer queue, no other visitors may be present to take the absent visitor's place. Therefore, at least one ride 118 of attraction 112 may proceed with less than the ride's maximum occupancy, thus decreasing the efficiency of attraction 112. However, by using both a physical queue and a waiting area, multiple visitors can be present at attraction 112 to fill the ride to maximum occupancy, even if one visitor does not arrive on time. In certain embodiments, monitoring device 466 is configured to monitor the current physical queue conditions. However, monitoring device 466 can be configured to monitor the current queue conditions of the physical queue, the virtual queue, or a combination of both.Furthermore, in certain implementations, attraction 112 can be implemented without a physical queue. In certain implementations, the 466 monitoring device can be configured to monitor or determine current queue conditions, including, but not limited to, queue length, number of visitors in the queue, flow rate of visitors entering and leaving the queue, specific individuals within the queue (e.g., identifying visitors in the queue), number of sub-queues within the queue, types of visitors within the queue, and so on. In certain implementations, the 466 monitoring device can monitor specific locations (e.g., a geographic location, queue zones, etc.) within the queue and send the number of visitors at each specific location to the virtual queue controller.In certain embodiments, the monitoring device 466 can monitor visitors not only at the beginning or end of the queue, but can also track whether visitors leave the queue midway. In certain embodiments, the monitoring device 466 can determine various characteristics of visitors (e.g., type, gender, age, number, etc.) within the queue and send that data to the virtual queue controller 430 to track and record historical performance data associated with the queue as it relates to attraction 112. In certain embodiments, the monitoring device 466 includes a counting mechanism 470 configured to monitor queue conditions. For example, the number of visitors in the queue can be monitored using a counting mechanism 470, which may be a manual system and / or may include one or more sensors positioned near the queue. In other embodiments, the monitoring device may include at least one sensor 472 (e.g., optical sensors, mechanical pedals, RF detection systems, etc.) physically positioned near the queue and communicatively connected to the virtual queue controller 430. The sensors 472 can provide continuous feedback to the virtual queue system 414 regarding the current queue conditions.For example, in situations where visitors wear RF identification, the RF sensors associated with the monitoring device can be configured to monitor when a particular visitor enters and exits the queue and send that data to the virtual controller. As a further example, the 472 sensors can be configured to recognize individual visitors entering and exiting the queue and continuously send that information to the virtual queue controller, so that various queue conditions (e.g., wait time, queue length, etc.) can be calculated based on the time individual visitors spend in the queue. Based on the feedback received, the 414 virtual queue system can be configured to respond dynamically to current queue conditions. In certain implementations, the 414 virtual queue system may include functionality to automatically remove a visitor from the virtual queue based on one or more factors (e.g., having been in the queue for an extended period beyond the current queue's timeout, the visitor being seen in an unexpected location within the queue, the visitor accessing another queue, the visitor being recognized outside the queue, etc.). In certain implementations, the 414 virtual queue system can virtually monitor and dynamically adjust a plurality of queues (or sub-queues), and can be configured to correlate data for a variety of queues when calculating or determining current queue conditions. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue system 414 can use feedback received from the monitoring device 466 to calculate other queue conditions. The virtual queue system 414 can calculate various factors or variables, such as, but not limited to, the length of the virtual queue, the current or real-time visitor throughput, the maximum attraction throughput, historical information related to queue conditions and responses (e.g., historical visitor throughput), the amount of time the queue is in different states (overfilled state, underfilled state, low throughput state, congested state, etc.), etc.For example, based on the number of visitors in the queue and / or the flow rate of visitors entering or leaving the queue, the 414 virtual queuing system can calculate current wait times, visitor wait times, current attraction capacity, etc. In particular, the 414 virtual queuing system can be configured to determine accurate, real-time information related to the queuing system and queue conditions, based at least in part on continuous feedback received from the 466 monitoring device. In another embodiment, in response to certain visitor wait times in virtual queues and / or access areas to physical attractions, the virtual queue system 414 can be configured to generate a queue modification signal 474. Specifically, the virtual queue system can be configured to respond dynamically to deviations from calculated visitor wait times within a specified wait time range by emitting a queue modification signal 474. In certain implementations, the queue modification signal 474 is configured to temporarily disable the ability to add a visitor to the virtual queue for attraction 112 when the wait time for the attraction exceeds the maximum limit of the wait time range. For example, when the virtual queue controller 430 determines that the virtual queue is too long, it is configured to send queue modification signal 474 to the device 420 associated with the visitor (e.g., a smartphone, visitor kiosk, etc.). Queue modification signal 474 is configured to transmit instructions to a queue program on the device associated with visitor 420 to disable the option to submit a queue request for attraction 112.Additionally, queue modification signal 474 can include instructions to display a message regarding the deactivation of a portion of the queue program. Once the virtual queue timeouts are reduced to a period within the timeout interval, the virtual queue controller 430 can be configured to send a resume signal 476 to enable the option to send queue requests. In certain embodiments, queue modification signal 474 includes instructions to notify visitors of a shorter-than-average queue time for attraction 112 when the wait time for the attraction is shorter than the minimum limit of the wait time range. For example, queue modification signal 474 may include instructions for the device associated with the visitor to display a message indicating that attraction 112 has a short wait time. In some embodiments, queue modification signal 474 may include instructions to activate a fast-track queue option in the program on the device associated with visitor 120. For example, the fast-track queue option may trigger a pop-up message on the screen indicating that the virtual queue has a short wait time.Additionally, the pop-up message may include a button configured to immediately place the visitor in the virtual queue for attraction 112. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 is configured to send queue modification signal 474 to devices associated with visitor 420 linked to visitors who have accessed fewer attractions 112 during that day than other visitors in theme park 110 before sending the queue modification signal to the other visitors, thus giving those who have experienced fewer attractions 112 a first opportunity to access the virtual queue. In certain embodiments, the program includes an option to dismiss messages triggered in response to the visitor's associated device receiving queue modification signal 474.However, once the virtual queue wait times increase to a period of time within the wait time range, the virtual queue controller is configured to send the resume signal to automatically discard notifications coming from the queue modification signal. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller is configured to send an attraction modification signal (478) to an amusement park operator device (480) in response to wait times exceeding the maximum limit or falling below the minimum limit of the wait time range. The attraction modification signal is configured to instruct an amusement park operator to open and / or close rides on an amusement park trip (118) to adjust current visitor throughput in response to the wait times. In addition to disabling the virtual queue or sending notifications, dynamically opening and closing rides (118) on an attraction (112) can further increase the efficiency of the amusement park attraction. Figure 5 is a graph showing the wait times 582 and a wait time interval 584 for the virtual queue. The wait time interval provides a minimum wait time 586 and a maximum wait time 588 for acceptable wait times at particular times, so wait times between the minimum wait time 586 and the maximum wait time 588 can limit a predetermined desired wait time interval. When the wait times 582 calculated or estimated by the virtual queue controller (for example, virtual queue controller 430) as provided in this document fall below the minimum wait time 586 or rise above the maximum wait time 588, virtual queue controller 430 is configured to generate the queue modification signal 474.In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 calculates the wait time interval 584 based at least on historical performance data. The virtual queue controller 430 can determine an average wait time 590 for an attraction 112 for each time interval of a day using historical performance data. The virtual queue controller 430 can determine a plurality of average wait times, where an average wait time is calculated for each time interval of each day of a week, month, year, etc. For example, the virtual queue controller 430 can calculate an average wait time for an attraction 112 at 10 am by averaging all historical performance data for the 10 am time interval. However, in other embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 calculates an average wait time for Monday at 10 am.Averaging all historical performance data for all Mondays at 10 am. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual queue controller 430 can further use historical queue condition data (e.g., historical travel scheduling data, historical visitor performance, weather data, visitor behavior, calendar information, demographic information, number of visitor groups, visitor group size, etc.) to determine the plurality of average wait times 590. In certain implementations, the virtual queue controller 430 can calculate the waiting interval 584 by adding a waiting buffer to the average waiting time 590. For example, the virtual queue controller 430 can calculate the average waiting times for 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm to be five, twenty, forty, and thirty-five minutes, respectively. The virtual queue controller 430 can provide a five-minute waiting buffer for the average waiting times to calculate the waiting interval. Therefore, the waiting intervals at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm are 0–10 minutes, 15–25 minutes, 35–45 minutes, and 30–40 minutes, respectively. In other implementations, the virtual queue controller 430 can calculate the waiting interval 584 using a dynamic waiting buffer.The dynamic timeout buffer can change the buffer's duration to different time intervals throughout the day. For example, the timeout buffer at 9:00 AM might be five minutes, while the timeout buffer at 1:00 PM might be fifteen minutes. In other implementations, the dynamic timeout buffer includes a longer buffer between the average wait time and the maximum limit than the buffer between the average wait time and the minimum limit. In some implementations, the dynamic timeout buffer can be determined using historical performance data, operator input, and other methods. In certain implementations, the wait time range can be set based on inputs received by the virtual queue controller 430. In some implementations, the virtual queue controller 430 is configured to receive input from the operator interface 332. An operator can transmit instructions to the virtual queue controller 430 to set specific wait time ranges using the operator interface 332. The operator can set static or dynamic wait time ranges. In some implementations, an operator can set a wait time interval independent of historical performance data. For example, if attraction 112 is temporarily unstaffed, an operator can adjust the wait time interval 584 for attraction 112 to decrease visitor throughput until attraction 112 is adequately staffed.In another example, the operator can adjust the waiting time intervals 584 for a plurality of attractions 112 to encourage visitors to queue for the particular attraction 112, in order to avoid congestion of other attractions 112 or locations. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 can determine wait times 582 for a position in the virtual queue based on variable visitor flow data and trip scheduling data. Typically, the virtual queue controller 430 calculates variable visitor throughput based at least on current visitor flow data, historical throughput data, historical trip scheduling data, and so on. Variable visitor throughput data represents expected visitor throughput for a single trip 118 of attraction 112 for each time slot during park hours. The virtual queue controller 430 is configured to predict expected visitor throughput data based at least on deviations of current visitor flow data from historical throughput data and other queue conditions.To accurately analyze performance variations and prevent scheduling variations from skewing the calculation, current visitor flow data and historical performance data are first carefully divided by the number of currently open rides and the number of historically open rides (i.e., to determine current visitor flow data and historical visitor performance data for a single ride). Additionally, the 430 virtual queue controller is configured to dynamically multiply the expected visitor performance data for a single ride based on the ride schedule data to determine an expected visitor performance for each time slot during park hours. The 430 virtual queue controller is configured to use the expected visitor performance and current queue conditions (e.g., the number of visitors in the queue, etc.).) in relation to the visitor's position to determine waiting times. As an example, in certain situations, an attraction 112 may include one or more rides 118 that open and close at different times throughout the day. For example, the first ride 118a of an attraction 112 may open simultaneously with the opening of theme park 110, and a second ride of attraction 112 may open one hour after theme park 110 opens. Each ride of attraction 112 may have a throughput of 120 visitors per hour. The features of this disclosure allow the virtual queuing system to use the scheduled opening / closing times of each ride during the day to determine wait times for attraction 112. For example, the virtual queuing system takes into account the delayed opening time of the second ride 118b when determining a wait time for attraction 112.In this way, the virtual queuing system can provide an accurate wait time for attraction 112, instead of an artificially low wait time that would be associated with cases where all 118 attractions are open. In other words, when one or more of the 118 rides are closed, the total estimated visitor throughput for attraction 112 will be reduced. Furthermore, the virtual queuing system 114 accounts for the one-hour delay in the opening of the second 118b ride during the allocated wait times before the second 118b ride is scheduled to open. For example, in one implementation, a visitor requests a position in the virtual queue such that the visitor's wait time for attraction 112 spans or overlaps with a first time period in which a subset of rides 118 are closed and a second time period in which all rides 118 are open. That is, some or all of the closed rides 118 become open while the visitor is in the virtual queue. Consequently, attraction 112 has an estimated lower visitor throughput during the first time period and an estimated higher visitor throughput during the second time period. Using the lower and higher visitor throughputs, a more accurate visitor wait time can be determined.In this way, the virtual queuing system can avoid periods of low traffic (when artificially high waiting times are reported) or congestion (when artificially low waiting times are reported). In one embodiment, for attraction 112, historical visitor performance data may show that, on average at 1:00 PM, attraction 112 has a visitor performance of 240 visitors per hour and a visitor performance at 2:00 PM of 220 visitors per hour, both with two attractions open. Current conditions, as determined by monitoring device 466, indicate that the current visitor performance for the 1:00 PM ride is 120 visitors per hour with one ride 118a open. However, the ride scheduling data provided to virtual queue controller 430 indicates that a second ride 118b is scheduled to open at 1:30 PM. First, the virtual queue controller can determine that the historical visitor performance for a ride vehicle at 1:00 PM is 120 visitors per hour, and that the ride performance per vehicle is in line with the historical visitor performance data.However, historical visitor throughput data shows a trend indicating that at 2:00 pm, visitor throughput for a ride vehicle historically decreases to 110 visitors per hour. The virtual queue controller 430 can be configured to account for this decrease in visitor throughput when calculating wait times. Furthermore, although the current visitor throughput is only 120 visitors per hour, the virtual queue controller is configured to increase the expected visitor throughput by a factor of two at 1:30 pm to account for the opening of the second ride vehicle. The expected ride throughput should increase to 240 visitors per hour minus the anticipated decrease in visitor throughput. Therefore, the expected ride throughput at 1:30 pm can be 230 visitors per hour.Using estimated visitor throughput data and current queue conditions relative to visitor position, the virtual queue controller can dynamically determine wait times. 582 In addition, in certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller can continuously calculate variable visitor throughput to account for changes in current visitor throughput and other queue conditions, in order to provide visitors with updated wait times. In some implementations, the virtual queue controller 430 also uses other queue conditions to determine wait times 582. Specifically, the virtual queue controller 430 can be configured to consider various factors, such as, but not limited to, the previous visitor's behavior, current visitor activities within and outside the queue, the visitor's current or historical locations within the park, weather conditions, calendar information (e.g., time of day, day of the week, holidays, etc.), demographic information, the number of visitors within a group(s), and so on. Furthermore, in certain implementations, the virtual queue controller 430 can record real-time queue conditions as historical queue condition information for future use.For example, real-time queue conditions may indicate that a 118a ride has historically had slower visitor throughput relative to the other 118b and 118c rides, even if all three 118 rides are otherwise identical or of the same type. Such slower throughput could be due to the loading area entrance for ride 118a being farther from the entrances for the other 118b and 118c rides, a loading angle resulting in slower loading, or display fixtures adjacent to ride 118a causing visitors to linger at the ride entrance. Therefore, a more accurate estimated wait time for visitors can take into account which of the 118 rides is closed and utilize the historical visitor throughput data associated with each individual 118 ride.For example, when the slowest trip 118a is closed, the estimated visitor wait time can use historical visitor throughput for the faster trips 118b, 118c and not the closed slowest trip 118a to calculate the estimated visitor wait time. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 can be configured to determine wait times 582 for each attraction 112 based on a coordinated analysis of other queue conditions. For example, in certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 can receive trip scheduling data and visitor performance data for a plurality of attractions 112, and can be configured to coordinate wait times 582 for the attractions 112 based on the received data. In certain embodiments, the virtual queue controller 430 can use other types of data to perform a coordination analysis. For example, the virtual queue controller can receive people flow data and / or wait times for other trips, and can use this data to provide accurate wait times 582 for each attraction 112. The techniques presented and claimed in this descriptive report refer to and are applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical.
Claims
1. A virtual queuing system (114), comprising: at least one monitoring device (466) configured to monitor current queuing conditions of an attraction (112) and emit a queuing condition signal; and a virtual queuing controller (430) comprising a processor (356a) and communication circuitry, wherein the virtual queuing controller (430) is configured to: receive the queuing condition signal; determine the number of visitor groups and the size of visitor groups in an area of the attraction based on the queuing condition signal; determine a current waiting time based on the number of visitor groups, the size of visitor groups in an area of the attraction,1. An average wait time for the attraction (112) and / or a capacity of the attraction (112); and issuing a queue modification signal (474) in response to the current determined wait time falling outside a predetermined wait time interval.
2. The virtual queue system (114) according to claim 1, wherein the average wait time is based on a dynamic wait time buffer whose duration changes depending on the time of day.
3. The virtual queue system (114) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the queue modification signal (474) is configured to cause the virtual queue controller (430) to temporarily disable the ability to add a visitor to the virtual queue of the attraction (112) when the current wait time exceeds a maximum wait time within the predetermined wait time interval.
4. The virtual queue system (114) according to any preceding claim,wherein the virtual queue controller (430) is configured to communicate the queue modification signal (474) to a visitor-associated device to cause the visitor-associated device to disable a user input, wherein the visitor-associated device is configured to transmit a request for a position in the virtual queue of the attraction (112) through the user input.
5. The virtual queue system (114) according to any preceding claim, wherein the virtual queue controller (430) is configured to: determine an updated average wait time for the attraction (112); and enable a capability of the virtual queue controller (430) to add new visitors to the virtual queue after determining that the updated average wait time is below a threshold wait time.
6. The virtual queue system (114) according to claim 5,wherein enabling the virtual queue controller's ability to add new visitors to the virtual queue comprises sending instructions to the visitor's associated device to enable user entry.
7. The virtual queue system (114) according to any preceding claim, wherein the at least one monitoring device (466) comprises an optical sensor.
8. The virtual queue system (114) according to any preceding claim, wherein the virtual queue controller (430) is configured to receive visitor location information via the queue condition signal and update the current wait time based on the location information.
9. A virtual queue procedure, comprising: monitoring, by means of at least one monitoring device (466), the current queue conditions of an attraction (112); and emitting, on the at least one monitoring device (466),a queue condition signal; receiving, in a virtual queue controller, the queue condition signal; determining, in the virtual queue controller, a number of visitor groups and a visitor group size in an area of an attraction based on the queue condition signal; determining, in the virtual queue controller, a current waiting time based on the number of visitor groups, the visitor group size in an area of the attraction, an average waiting time for the attraction (112) and / or a capacity of the attraction (112); and issuing, in the virtual queue controller, a queue modification signal (474) in response to the current determined waiting time falling outside a predetermined waiting time interval.
10. The method according to claim 9,further comprising determining the average waiting time based on a dynamic waiting time buffer whose duration changes according to the time of day.
11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the queue modification signal (474) is configured to cause the virtual queue controller (430) to temporarily disable the ability to add a visitor to the attraction's virtual queue (112) when the current waiting time is above a maximum waiting time within the predetermined waiting time interval.
12. The method of any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising communicating, in the virtual queue controller, the queue modification signal (474) to a visitor-associated device to cause the visitor-associated device to disable a user entry,wherein the device associated with the visitor is configured to transmit a request for a position in the virtual queue of the attraction (112) based on user input.
13. The method according to any of claims 9 to 12, further comprising determining, in the virtual queue controller, an updated average waiting time for the attraction (112), and enabling a capability of the virtual queue controller (430) to add new visitors to the virtual queue after determining that the updated average waiting time is below a threshold waiting time.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein enabling the capability of the virtual queue controller (430) to add new visitors to the virtual queue comprises sending instructions to the device associated with the visitor to enable user input.
15. The method according to any of claims 9 to 14,which also includes receiving visitor location information via the queue condition signal and updating the current wait time based on that location information.