Amusement park system and method

Abstract

The systems and methods presented herein comprise an amusement park system including an augmented experience system 34 configured to track guest interactions of a plurality of guests 18 of an amusement park 10 with one or more amusement park employees 17, one or more portable devices 20, one or more wearable devices 22, one or more themed devices 24, or one or more physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10. The augmented experience system 34 is also configured to augment the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 based, at least in part, on data associated with the guest interactions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 789,872, filed January 8, 2019, entitled "System and Method for Coupled Augmented Environments," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0002] (Technical field) The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for coupled augmented environment generation. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods that enable theme park environments to change over time based on, for example, input received from theme park guests as well as other environmental factors. [Background technology]

[0003] This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present technique, and various aspects of the art are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. As such, it should be understood that these statements are not admissions of prior art, and should be read in this light.

[0004] Amusement parks and / or theme parks may include a variety of entertainment attractions, restaurants, souvenir shops, and rides useful for providing enjoyment to park visitors (e.g., families and / or people of all ages). Each area of ​​an amusement park may have a different theme specifically targeted to a particular audience. For example, certain areas may include themes traditionally appealing to children, while other areas may include themes traditionally appealing to a more adult audience. Generally, such themed locations associated with an amusement park may be referred to as attractions or themed attractions. These themed attractions may be established using fixed fixtures, building layouts, props, decorations, etc., most of which may generally relate to a particular theme. However, these themed attractions often include essentially stationary environments that do not change over time based, for example, on the time of day, visitor interaction, or other environmental factors.

[0005] It is now recognized that it would be desirable to include themed attractions that would allow for flexible and efficient changes to the environment of the themed attractions over the prior art. It is also now recognized that it would be desirable to enhance a guest's immersive experience of such themed attractions to provide a personalized or customized experience for the guest. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed subject matter are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure; rather, these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of certain disclosed embodiments. Indeed, the disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

[0007] In certain embodiments, the amusement park system includes an augmented experience system configured to track guest interactions of a plurality of guests of the amusement park with one or more amusement park employees, one or more mobile devices, one or more wearable devices, one or more themed devices, or one or more physical objects located within the real-world environment of the amusement park, and configured to augment the real-world environment of the amusement park based at least in part on data related to the guest interactions.

[0008] Moreover, in certain embodiments, the method includes tracking, via the amusement park augmented experience system, guest interactions of a plurality of guests at the amusement park with one or more amusement park employees, one or more mobile devices, one or more wearable devices, one or more themed devices, or one or more physical objects located within the amusement park's real-world environment. The method also includes augmenting the amusement park's real-world environment based at least in part on the data associated with the guest interactions.

[0009] Various refinements of the features described above may be made to the various aspects of the present disclosure, and additional features may be incorporated into these various aspects. The refinements and additional features described above may exist individually or in any combination.

[0010] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure can be better understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an amusement park including one or more attractions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for providing an amusement park augmented experience, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3]1 illustrates themed attractions at an amusement park at the beginning of the park's operating day, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a themed attraction at an amusement park at the end of the park's operating day, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 3 and 4 illustrate how guests can interact with mobile devices, wearable devices, themed devices, and / or physical objects located within the real-world environment of an amusement park, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 3 and 4 illustrate how guests can interact with mobile devices, wearable devices, themed devices, and / or physical objects located within the real-world environment of an amusement park, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 3 and 4 illustrate how guests can interact with mobile devices, wearable devices, themed devices, and / or physical objects located within the real-world environment of an amusement park, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 3 and 4 illustrate how guests can interact with mobile devices, wearable devices, themed devices, and / or physical objects located within the real-world environment of an amusement park, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a method of operating the augmented experience system described herein, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. To provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation may be described herein. It should be recognized that, as with any industrial design or engineering project, the development of any such actual implementation will require numerous implementation-specific decisions to be made in order to achieve the developers' particular goals, including compliance with system-related and business-related constraints that may vary from implementation to implementation. It should also be recognized that such development efforts may be complex and time-consuming, but will nevertheless represent a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Furthermore, to the extent that specific terms, such as parallel and perpendicular, are used herein, it should be understood that these terms allow for certain deviations from their strict mathematical definitions, for example, to account for deviations associated with manufacturing imperfections and associated tolerances.

[0013] When describing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "a," "an," and "the" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the element. The terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. In addition, it should be understood that references to "one embodiment" or "one embodiment" of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure enable a more dynamic guest interaction experience, where the physical and visual thematic landscape can be influenced by external variables such as gameplay or crowd dynamics. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure enable the physical environment of a thematic experience to dynamically change based on guest interaction, time of day, and other environmental factors influenced by the combined experience. By determining the appearance of the thematic environment based on crowd dynamics and interactions with the environment (e.g., via real-time post-rendered projection mapping, visuals, and other effects such as dynamically animated props influenced by guest interaction), guests can encounter dramatically different landscapes when returning to the same area during different times of the day.

[0015] For example, in certain embodiments, guests may encounter a destroyed city early in the morning. During the day, guests may engage in a joint quest to reconstruct the environment throughout the day. Thus, by evening, the area may be completely and spectacularly restored physically as a result of the guests' collective actions. Guests may interact with the physical environment through mobile devices, wearable devices (e.g., watches, bracelets, charms, rings, headbands, glasses, etc.), other themed devices, interactions with amusement park employees, directed interactions with physical objects within the physical environment, or tracking of guests through passive tracking devices within the physical environment. Such interactions allow guests to make their own distinct contributions to the manipulation of the physical landscape (e.g., a guest may create a physical mountain of a particular color). The effects are further manifested through mobile devices, where guests' past and present efforts can be visualized in augmented reality through the landscape. Guests create a cohesive group experience composed of their individual experiences.

[0016] Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for providing augmented experiences as part of an amusement park or theme park. For example, in certain embodiments, amusement park guests may use mobile devices, wearable devices, or other themed devices to facilitate the generation of an augmented experience, which may include generating augmented reality (AR) imagery within the amusement park's real-world environment and generating physical effects for physical objects located within the amusement park's real-world environment. Additionally, in certain embodiments, amusement park guests may directly interact with physical objects located within the amusement park to facilitate the augmented experience. Additionally, in certain embodiments, amusement park guests' interactions with amusement park employees may be tracked to facilitate the augmented experience (e.g., with employees interacting with their mobile devices, their wearable devices, their themed devices, and / or physical objects located within the amusement park's real-world environment, at the guest's direction). Additionally, in certain embodiments, the guests themselves may be tracked by passive tracking devices located within the amusement park to facilitate the augmented experience. Thus, the systems and methods described herein can track guest interactions with the amusement park in various ways throughout the day, such that the real-world environment is modified throughout the day based on guest interactions as well as other environmental factors (such as the current time, current date, current weather, etc.).

[0017] In certain embodiments, the image generation system can render a real-time video stream of AR images that are displayed within the real-world environment of an amusement park. For example, in certain embodiments, the image generation system may render AR images based, at least in part, on guest interactions received from mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, and / or physical objects located within the amusement park, which may include guest manipulation of mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, and / or physical objects located within the amusement park (e.g., interactions with an input device); the location, orientation, and / or movement of the mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, and / or the guest themselves; the proximity of the mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, and / or the guest themselves to particular physical objects located within the amusement park's real-world environment; local settings entered by the guest into the mobile and / or wearable device; global settings for the amusement park (e.g., as entered by the park owner); previous interactions performed via mobile devices, wearable devices, and / or other thematic devices; and other environmental factors (e.g., the current time, the current date, the current weather, etc.).

[0018] In certain embodiments, the mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, physical objects located in the real-world environment of the amusement park, and / or the guests themselves can be monitored by a monitoring system, which can communicate data related to the mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, physical objects, and / or the guests themselves (e.g., guest interactions with particular physical objects, the position, orientation, and / or movement of particular physical objects, proximity to particular physical objects, etc.) to an image generation system so that the image generation system can generate AR imagery based at least in part on the data related to the mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, physical objects, and / or the guests themselves. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the monitoring system can be configured to communicate with a physical interaction system, which is configured to trigger physical effects (e.g., movement effects, sound effects, haptic feedback effects, color effects, scent effects, etc.) of the physical objects located in the real-world environment of the amusement park based at least in part on the data related to the mobile devices, wearable devices, other thematic devices, physical objects, and / or the guests themselves. Additionally, in certain embodiments, certain amusement park employees may modify their behavior based, at least in part, on data associated with mobile devices, wearable devices, other themed devices, physical objects, and / or guests themselves.

[0019] In this manner, the image generation system, the monitoring system, and the physical interaction system can be used to generate an augmented experience, which can include generating AR imagery within the real-world environment of the amusement park and generating physical effects for physical objects located within the real-world environment of the amusement park, thereby enhancing a visitor's overall experience within the amusement park. However, it should be appreciated that the techniques described herein are not limited to amusement park attraction applications, but can be extended to any of a variety of applications, such as, for example, medical applications (e.g., image-guided surgery, non-invasive imaging analysis), industrial design applications (e.g., industrial model development), manufacturing, construction, and maintenance applications (e.g., product manufacturing, new construction, auto repair), educational and / or vocational training applications, exercise applications (e.g., bodybuilding and weight loss models), television (TV) applications (e.g., weather and news), etc.

[0020] With the above in mind, it is useful to describe an embodiment of an amusement park 10, as shown in Figure 1. As illustrated, amusement park 10 may include thrill rides 12, amusement park facilities 14 (e.g., restaurants, souvenir shops, etc.), additional amusement park attractions 16, and amusement park employees 17 (e.g., acting as themed characters). As described in more detail herein, guests 18 of amusement park 10 may be provided with an augmented experience within the real-world environment of amusement park 10. 1 , in certain embodiments, guests 18 of amusement park 10 may interact with portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 (e.g., dynamically animated props) placed within the real-world environment of amusement park 10, may interact with amusement park 10 employees 17 (who in turn interact with portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 for guests 18), or may be passively tracked by a monitoring system to generate augmented experiences that change over time, for example, during the operation of amusement park 10, as described in more detail herein. For example, in certain embodiments, AR image 30 may be generated via one or more AR image generators 28, such as an AR image display configured to display AR image 30 and / or an AR image projector configured to project AR image 30 in the real-world environment of amusement park 10. Additionally, in certain embodiments, one or more physical effects 32 may be generated for one or more of the physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10.

[0021] In certain embodiments, portable device 20 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smartphone), a tablet computer, or any other suitable device that can be carried by guest 18 throughout amusement park 10. In certain embodiments, wearable device 22 may be an electronic device such as a watch, eyeglasses, safety glasses, a bracelet, a charm, a ring, a headband, glasses, a hat, a helmet, a T-shirt, a jacket, a coat, shorts, pants, shoes, boots, or any other conveniently wearable item. In certain embodiments, themed device 24 may be a theme-related object at the amusement park, such as a model gun, sword, flag, or polearm. As described in more detail herein, in certain embodiments, wearable device 22 and / or themed device 24 may include circuitry (e.g., a small chip) located within the device (e.g., sewn into clothing, etc.) or may include a unique pattern (e.g., an image, etc.) that can be passively tracked by a monitoring system.

[0022] 2 is a schematic diagram of an augmented experience system 34 for providing an augmented experience of the amusement park 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2 , in certain embodiments, the augmented experience system 34 may include one or more portable devices 20, one or more wearable devices 22, one or more other thematic devices 24, and / or one or more physical objects 26 with which guests 18 of the amusement park 10 (and / or employees 17 of the amusement park 10 on behalf of guests 18) may interact. The portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the other thematic devices 24, the physical objects 26, and / or one or more AR image generators 28 may be communicatively connected to an image generation system 36, a monitoring system 38, and / or a physical interaction system 40 (e.g., within the amusement park 10) via a wireless network 42 (e.g., a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a near field communication (NFC) network, or any other suitable wireless network). Additionally, in certain embodiments, the physical object 26 and / or the AR image generator 28 may be communicatively connected to the image generation system 36, the monitoring system 38, and / or the physical interaction system 40 via a wireless network 42 and / or via a direct physical connection 44 (e.g., using a communication cable).

[0023] As described in more detail herein, the image generation system 36, the monitoring system 38, and the physical interaction system 40 may cooperate with one another to generate an augmented experience of the amusement park 10 utilizing guest interactions (e.g., directly from guests 18 or indirectly from employees 17) with the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 located in the real-world environment of the amusement park 10. For example, in certain embodiments, the image generation system 36 may be configured to generate AR imagery 30 that may be displayed and / or projected into the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 utilizing guest interactions (e.g., directly from guests 18 or indirectly from employees 17) with the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 located in the real-world environment of the amusement park 10. In certain embodiments, the image generation system 36 may generate a real-time video stream including real-world imagery 46 electronically integrated with the AR imagery 30. The term "real-time" indicates that the images are acquired and / or provided in a time frame substantially close to the time of the actual observation.

[0024] Additionally, in certain embodiments, physical interaction system 40 can be configured to utilize guest interactions (e.g., directly from guests 18 or indirectly from employees 17) with portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of amusement park 10 to generate physical effects 32 for physical objects 26. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, monitoring system 38 can be configured to monitor portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 to detect guest interactions with portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, other thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26, and to communicate the guest interactions to image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40 to enable those systems to generate AR images 30 and / or physical effects 32, respectively. Additionally, in certain embodiments, monitoring system 38 may be configured to passively monitor guests 18 and send data related to the passively monitored guests 18 to image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40 to enable those systems to generate AR images 30 and / or physical effects 32, respectively.

[0025] In certain embodiments, the portable device 20 may include one or more orientation and location sensors 48 (e.g., accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, motion tracking sensors such as electromagnetic and solid-state motion tracking sensors) that can be used to track the location, orientation, movement, etc. of the portable device 20. Similarly, in certain embodiments, features 50 (e.g., geometric aspects or markings) of the portable device 20 may be monitored by a surveillance system 38 (e.g., one or more cameras in certain embodiments) to determine the location, orientation, movement, etc. of the portable device 20. Additionally, in certain embodiments, guests 18 may be passively monitored by a surveillance system 38 (e.g., a camera system such as a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system) to identify the location, orientation, movement, etc. of the guest 18, as well as, in certain embodiments, to detect unique features associated with the guest 18, such as facial recognition.

[0026] Additionally, in certain embodiments, the mobile device 20 may include one or more cameras 52 configured to capture images and video (e.g., real-world images) and display the captured images and video (as well as the AR imagery 30) via one or more displays 58 of the mobile device 20. In certain embodiments, to facilitate generating the augmented experience, the mobile device 20 may include processing circuitry, such as a processor 54 and memory 56. The processor 54 may be operatively connected to the memory 56 and may execute instructions that at least partially perform the techniques of the present disclosure, generating the real-world imagery 46 integrated with the AR imagery 30, which, in certain embodiments, may be displayed on one or more displays 58 of the mobile device 20 to enhance the augmented experience for the guest 18. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the processor 54 may execute instructions stored in the memory 56 for processing guest interactions received via one or more inputs 60 of the mobile device 20. These instructions may be encoded in a program or code stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 56 and / or other storage device. In particular embodiments, processor 54 may be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration.

[0027] In certain embodiments, each of the one or more displays 58 of the portable device 20 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, or other similar display useful in displaying the real-world images 46 and the AR images 30 to the guests 18. In certain embodiments, each of the one or more displays 58 may include an opaque or transparent LCD display or an opaque or transparent OLED display useful for, for example, allowing the guests 18 to view the real-world images 46 and the AR images 30 displayed on the display 58 while the respective display 58 retains the ability to see through to the actual physical, real-world environment of the amusement park 10.

[0028] In certain embodiments, one or more cameras 52 of the portable device 20 may be used to capture real-time video data (e.g., live video) of the real-world environment of the amusement park 10. In certain embodiments, the portable device 20 may then transmit the real-time video data captured by the one or more cameras 52 to the image generation system 36 for processing (e.g., wirelessly via one or more communication interfaces 62 incorporated into the portable device 20). Additionally, in certain embodiments, the portable device 20 may transmit orientation data, location information, motion tracking data, etc., acquired and / or generated based at least in part on data acquired by the orientation and position sensors 48 of the portable device 20, to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 via the one or more communication interfaces 62. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the portable device 20 may transmit data related to guest interactions with the portable device 20 via one or more inputs 60 to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 via the one or more communication interfaces 62.

[0029] In certain embodiments, the wearable device 22 may include one or more orientation and location sensors 64 (e.g., accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, motion tracking sensors such as electromagnetic and solid-state motion tracking sensors) that can be used to track the position, orientation, movement, etc. of the wearable device 22. In other embodiments, the wearable device 22 may be a passive object (i.e., does not include sensors, control circuitry, etc.), and the orientation, location, and movement of a passive object may be tracked, for example, by the monitoring system 38. In such embodiments, certain features 66 of the wearable device 22, such as passive features (e.g., geometric features or markings, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, etc.) or more active features (e.g., wireless transmitters such as ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless transmitters), may be monitored by the monitoring system 38 to determine the orientation, location, movement, etc. of the wearable device 22.

[0030] In particular embodiments, to facilitate generating an augmented experience, wearable device 22 may include processing circuitry such as a processor 68 and memory 70. Processor 68 may be operatively connected to memory 70 to execute instructions for processing guest interactions received via one or more inputs 72 of wearable device 22. These instructions may be encoded in a program or code stored on a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory 70 and / or other storage device. In particular embodiments, processor 68 may be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration.

[0031] In certain embodiments, each of the one or more displays 74 of the wearable device 22 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, or other similar display useful in displaying real-world images 46 and AR images 30 to the guest 18. In certain embodiments, each of the one or more displays 74 may include an opaque or transparent LCD, or an opaque or transparent OLED display useful for, for example, allowing the guest 18 to view the real-world images 46 and AR images 30 displayed on the display 74 while preserving the ability to see through the respective display 74 to the actual physical, real-world environment of the amusement park 10.

[0032] In certain embodiments, wearable device 22 may transmit orientation data, location information, motion tracking data, etc., acquired and / or generated based at least in part on data acquired by orientation and location sensors 64 of wearable device 22, to image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40 via one or more communication interfaces 76 of wearable device 22. Additionally, in certain embodiments, wearable device 22 may also transmit data related to guest interactions with wearable device 22 via one or more inputs 72 to image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40 via one or more communication interfaces 76.

[0033] In certain embodiments, the thematic device 24 may include one or more orientation and location sensors 78 (e.g., accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, motion tracking sensors such as electromagnetic and solid-state motion tracking sensors) that can be used to track the location, orientation, movement, etc. of the thematic device 24. In other embodiments, the thematic device 24 may be a passive object (i.e., does not include sensors, control circuits, etc.), and the orientation, location, and movement of the passive object may be tracked, for example, by the monitoring system 38. In such embodiments, certain features 80 of the thematic device 24, such as passive features (e.g., geometric features or markings, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, etc.) or more active features (e.g., wireless transmitters such as ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless transmitters), may be monitored by the monitoring system 38 to determine the orientation, location, movement, etc. of the thematic device 24. In certain embodiments, the thematic device 24 may transmit orientation data, location information, motion tracking data, etc., acquired and / or generated based at least in part on data acquired by the orientation and location sensor 78 of the thematic device 24 to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 via one or more communication interfaces 82 of the thematic device 24.

[0034] In particular embodiments, as described in more detail herein, the image generation system 36 may include processing circuitry such as a processor 84 (e.g., a general-purpose processor or other processor) and memory 86 and may process data of guest interactions with the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the thematic devices 24, and / or the physical objects 26 located in the real-world environment of the amusement park 10, and the data may be received from the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the thematic devices 24, and / or the physical objects 26 located in the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 (e.g., directly from guests 18 or indirectly from employees 17) or from the monitoring system 38 via one or more communication interfaces 88 of the image generation system 36 to generate the AR images 30, which may be generated via the displays 58, 74 of the portable devices 20 and the wearable devices 22, respectively, and / or via the AR image generator 28. Furthermore, in particular embodiments, in addition to the AR image 30 (e.g., AR enhancements), the image generation system 36 may also trigger one or more movement effects, sound effects, haptic feedback effects, color effects, scent effects, etc., executed via internal components of the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, and / or thematic device 24, which may match the appearance of the AR image 30. Instructions to perform these functions may be encoded in a program or code stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 86 and / or other storage device. In particular embodiments, the processor 84 may be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration.

[0035] In certain embodiments, as described in more detail herein, the image generation system 36 may also generate and render one or more AR images 30 that are overlaid on the real-world image 46 to create a complete AR experience for the guest 18. For example, in certain embodiments, the image generation system 36 may utilize video and / or optical integration techniques to overlay the AR image 30 on the real-world image 46 such that the guest 18 perceives the real-world physical environment of the amusement park 10 together with the AR image 30 (e.g., virtual augmentation). Specifically, in certain embodiments, the image generation system 36 may render a view of the AR image 30 that is temporally and spatially aligned with the real-world image 46 such that the real-world image 46 appears as a background overlaid on the AR image 30.

[0036] In certain embodiments, the image generation system 36 is configured to generate one or more AR images 30 based, at least in part, on data related to guest interactions (e.g., directly from the guest 18 or indirectly from the employee 17) with the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, the themed device 24, and / or physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10, such as interactions with the inputs 60, 72 of the portable device 20 and the wearable device 22, respectively (or indeed, in certain embodiments, the inputs of the physical objects 26); their own position, orientation, and / or movement; the proximity of the portable device 20, wearable device 22, themed device 24, and / or the guest themselves to physical objects 26 located in the real-world environment of the amusement park 10; local settings entered by the guest into the portable device 20 and / or wearable device 22; global settings for the amusement park 10 (e.g., as entered by the owner of the amusement park 10); previous interactions performed via the portable device 20, wearable device 22, themed device 24, and / or physical objects 26 located in the real-world environment of the amusement park 10; other environmental factors (e.g., current time, current date, current weather, etc.). As described in more detail herein, data relating to guest interactions (e.g., directly from guests 18 or indirectly from employees 17) with portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, themed devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of amusement park 10 may be received directly from portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, themed devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of amusement park 10 (e.g., via their respective communication interfaces) or may be received from monitoring system 38.

[0037] In certain embodiments, once the image generation system 36 generates one or more AR images 30, the image generation system 36 can send the generated AR images 30 (and, in certain embodiments, real-world images 46) to the AR image generator 28 so that the AR image generator 28 can display the AR images 30 (and, in certain embodiments, real-world images 46) on one or more displays 90 of the AR image generator 28 or project the AR images 30 (and, in certain embodiments, real-world images 46) via one or more projectors 92 of the AR image generator 28. Additionally, in certain embodiments, once the image generation system 36 generates one or more AR images 30, the image generation system 36 can send the generated AR images 30 (and, in certain embodiments, the real-world images 46) to the portable device 20 and / or the wearable device 22 so that the portable device 20 and / or the wearable device 22 can display the AR images 30 (and, in certain embodiments, the real-world images 46)) on the displays 58, 74 of the portable device 20 and / or the wearable device 22, respectively.

[0038] In certain embodiments, as described in more detail herein, the image generation system 36 may generate and render one or more AR images 30 based at least in part on orientation data, location data, and motion tracking data of the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, the thematic device 24, and / or the guest 18 itself, which may be detected by the monitoring system 38. For example, in certain embodiments, the monitoring system 38 may include one or more tracking devices 94 (e.g., one or more cameras, such as a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, in certain embodiments) configured to detect orientation data, location data, and motion tracking data of the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, thematic device 24, and / or the guest 18 itself. The monitoring system 38 can then communicate the orientation data, location information, and motion tracking data of the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, the thematic device 24, and / or the guest 18 to the image generation system 36 via one or more communication interfaces 96 of the monitoring system 38, and the image generation system 36 can further generate the AR image 30 to be generated via the AR image generator 28 and / or displayed on the display 58, 74 of the portable device 20 and / or the wearable device 22 based at least in part on the orientation data, location data, and motion tracking data of the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, and / or thematic device 24. Further, in certain embodiments, one or more tracking devices 94 may be configured to perform facial recognition of the guest 18 to detect the guest's 18 identity, the guest's 18 emotion, etc., and the monitoring system 38 may communicate data related to the facial recognition of the guest 18 to the image generation system 36 via one or more communication interfaces 96 of the monitoring system 38, and the image generation system 36 may generate an AR image 30, which will be generated via the AR image generator 28 and / or displayed on the display 58, 74 of the mobile device 20 and / or wearable device 22, based at least in part on the facial recognition of the guest 18.

[0039] Additionally, in certain embodiments, the monitoring system 38 may include processing circuitry, such as a processor 98 (e.g., a general-purpose processor or other processor) and memory 100, for example, to convert data into a form suitable for the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40. Orientation data, location information, and motion tracking data of guests 18 (and / or data related to facial recognition of guests 18) detected by the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, thematic devices 24, and / or one or more tracking devices 94 may be processed. Instructions for performing these functions may be encoded in a program or code stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 100 and / or other storage device. In certain embodiments, the processor 98 may be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration.

[0040] Similarly, in certain embodiments, as described in more detail herein, the image generation system 36 may generate and render one or more AR images 30 based, at least in part, on orientation data, location information, and motion tracking data of the guest 18 (and / or facial recognition of the guest 18) that may be detected by the surveillance system 38. For example, in certain embodiments, one or more tracking devices 94 of the surveillance system 38 may detect orientation data, location information, and motion tracking data of the guest 18 (including, e.g., detecting the body of the guest 18, detecting hand gesture patterns of the guest 18, etc.). The monitoring system 38 can then communicate the orientation data, location information, and motion tracking data of the guest 18 to the image generation system 36 via one or more communication interfaces 96 of the monitoring system 38, and the image generation system 36 can generate the AR image 30, which will be generated via the AR image generator 28 and / or displayed on the display 58, 74 of the mobile device 20 and / or wearable device 22, based at least in part on the orientation data, location information, and motion tracking data of the guest 18. Further, as described herein, in certain embodiments, one or more tracking devices 94 may be configured to perform facial recognition of guest 18 to detect the identity of guest 18, the emotion of guest 18, etc., and monitoring system 38 may communicate data related to the facial recognition of guest 18 to image generation system 36 via one or more communication interfaces 96 of monitoring system 38, and image generation system 36 may generate AR images 30 based at least in part on the facial recognition of guest 18, to be generated via AR image generator 28 and / or displayed on displays 58, 74 of mobile device 20 and / or wearable device 22. Further, in certain embodiments, processing circuitry of monitoring system 38 may process data detected by one or more tracking devices 94, for example, to convert the data into a form suitable for image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40.

[0041] Further, in particular embodiments, the AR image generator 28 may include processing circuitry, such as a processor 132 and a memory 134. The processor 132 may be operatively connected to the memory 134 to execute instructions for determining and / or setting particular operational states of the particular AR image generator 28. These instructions may be encoded in a program or code stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 134 and / or other storage devices. In particular embodiments, the processor 132 may be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration. In certain embodiments, the processor 132 of a particular AR image generator 28 can be configured to generate an AR image 30 received from the image generation system 36 (e.g., via one or more communication interfaces 136 of the AR image generator 28), for example, by displaying the AR image 30 (and, in certain embodiments, real-world images 46) on one or more displays 90 of the AR image generator 28 or by projecting the AR image 30 (and, in certain embodiments, real-world images 46) via one or more projectors 92 of the AR image generator 28.

[0042] Further, in particular embodiments, as described in more detail herein, the image generation system 36 may generate and render one or more AR images 30 based, at least in part, on data related to particular physical objects 26 in the amusement park 10. For example, in particular embodiments, the physical objects 26 may include processing circuitry, such as a processor 102 and a memory 104. The processor 102 may be operatively connected to the memory 104 to execute instructions for determining and / or setting particular operational states of the particular physical objects 26. These instructions may be encoded in a program or code stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 104 and / or other storage devices. In particular embodiments, the processor 102 may be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration. In particular embodiments, the processor 102 of a particular physical object 26 may be configured to determine whether a particular physical effect 32 is active for the physical object 26 and communicate this determination to the image generation system 36 via one or more communication interfaces 106 of the physical object 26, and the image generation system 36 may generate the AR image 30 to be generated by the AR image generator 28 and / or displayed on the display 58, 74 of the mobile device 20 and / or wearable device 22 based at least in part on this determination.

[0043] Thus, the physical interaction system 40 enables the generation of physical effects 32 (e.g., movement effects, sound effects, haptic feedback effects, color effects, scent effects, etc.) for particular physical objects 26 in the amusement park 10. Specifically, the physical interaction system 40 can be used to generate physical effects 32 for particular physical objects 26 in the amusement park 10. In particular embodiments, as described in more detail herein, the physical interaction system 40 can include processing circuitry, such as a processor 108 (e.g., a general-purpose processor or other processor) and memory 110, and can process data from the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, the thematic device 24, the physical objects 26, the image generation system 36, and the monitoring system 38 to determine the type of physical effect 32 to be generated for the particular physical object 26. In particular, it should be appreciated that all of the various types of data described above, as communicated between the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the thematic devices 24, the physical objects 26, the image generation system 36, and the monitoring system 38, can also be communicated to or from those components of the amusement park 10 and one or more communication interfaces 112 of the physical interaction system 40, which can determine, at least in part, the particular physical effects 32 to be generated for particular physical objects 26 based on this data, and control signals to generate (i.e., execute) the physical effects 32 can be communicated to those physical objects 26. These instructions can be encoded in a program or code stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 110 and / or other storage device. In particular embodiments, the processor 108 can be a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration.

[0044] Thus, in certain embodiments, the physical effect 32 to be performed for one or more physical objects 26 may be determined by the physical interaction system 40, which may communicate the physical effect 32 to a particular physical object 26 (e.g., via communications interfaces 106, 112) for execution, e.g., via a physical actuation mechanism 114 associated with the physical object 26. For example, in certain embodiments, the physical effect 32 may be an electric spark emanating from the physical object 26, such as generated by a power source, a flame emanating from the physical object 26, such as generated by an ignition device, or the movement of a portion of the physical object 26.

[0045] Thus, the image generation system 36, the monitoring system 38, and the physical interaction system 40 are configured to cooperate with one another to generate an augmented experience for guests 18 of the amusement park 10, where the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 is augmented, for example, through the generation of AR imagery 30 within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 and / or the generation of physical effects 32 of physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10. In particular, the AR imagery 30 and physical effects 32 generated by the image generation system 36 and the physical interaction system 40, respectively, may be determined by considering all of the guest interactions (e.g., directly from guests 18 or indirectly from employees 17) with the mobile devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the themed devices 24, and / or the physical objects 26 located within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 that occur over a given period of time, for example, during a single operating day of the amusement park 10. For example, in certain embodiments, image generation system 36, monitoring system 38, and physical interaction system 40 may collectively monitor guest interactions described herein during all operating hours of amusement park 10 such that all of the guest interactions described herein may be taken into account when generating the augmented experiences described herein.

[0046] To illustrate an example of how image generation system 36, monitoring system 38, and physical interaction system 40 may cooperate with one another to generate an augmented experience as described herein, FIG. 3 illustrates a themed attraction 116 at amusement park 10 at the beginning of a business day for amusement park 10, and FIG. 4 illustrates a themed attraction 116 at amusement park 10 at the end of a business day for amusement park 10, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3 , at the beginning of a business day for amusement park 10, AR image generator 28 may generate AR image 30 showing a destroyed structure 118 (e.g., a house or other type of building or architecture), and various physical objects 26 may include various faction flags 120 (i.e., physical objects 26) that are not in an elevated position. Conversely, as shown in FIG. 4, at the end of the amusement park 10's business day, the AR image generator 28 may generate an AR image 30 showing the structure 118 being restored and various faction flags 120 (i.e., as generated physical effects 32 as directed by the physical interaction system 40) raised to different heights, the heights of the faction flags corresponding, for example, to the number of guests 18 who voted for the corresponding faction during the amusement park's 10 business day.

[0047] Thus, the image generation system 36, the monitoring system 38, and the physical interaction system 40 may, for example, track the collective behavior of guests 18 at the amusement park 10 during the park's operating days to provide a combined, enhanced experience for the guests 18. Specifically, guests 18 may feel that they have made a significant contribution to the themed attractions 116 of the amusement park 10 that are most important to them by interacting (e.g., directly or indirectly through employees 17) with particular thematic attractions 116 during a single operating day at the amusement park 10. However, to prevent a particular guest 18 from substantially dominating a particular thematic attraction 116 by, for example, spending an entire operating day interacting with a single thematic attraction 116, in certain embodiments, the image generation system 36, the monitoring system 38, and the physical interaction system 40 may impose an interaction “cool down” on guest interactions with a particular thematic attraction 116. In other words, for example, once a guest 18 has interacted with a particular themed attraction 116, that particular guest 18 may not have another interaction with that particular themed attraction 116 for a given amount of time (e.g., 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.).

[0048] 3 and 4 , in certain embodiments, the structure 118 may be indicated as being restored (i.e., by the AR image generator 28 generating the AR image 30 as directed by the image generation system 36), with the rendered features of the restored structure 118 being based at least in part on the relative number of votes cast by guests 18 for each faction, e.g., by interacting with the portable device 20, the wearable device 22, the themed device 24, and / or the physical object 26 (e.g., including the faction flags 120). For example, in certain embodiments, a first faction flag 120A may be associated with a first faction, which may be generally perceived as a relatively “good” faction (e.g., based on the theme of the themed attraction 116), while a second faction flag 120B may be associated with a second faction, which may be generally perceived as a relatively “bad” faction (e.g., also based on the theme of the themed attraction 116). Thus, during a day during which the amusement park 10 is open, guests 18 may interact with their mobile devices 20, wearable devices 22, themed devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 (e.g., including faction flags 120) to vote for or otherwise show their support for a faction of their choice (e.g., directly or indirectly via employees 17). Based on these guest interactions with their mobile devices 20, wearable devices 22, themed devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 (e.g., including faction flags 120) (i.e., guest faction votes), the structure 118 may be shown to be partially recreated by the AR image 30 generated by the AR image generator 28 in a manner consistent with the guest faction vote (e.g., as also directed by the image generation system 36). Additionally, in certain embodiments, credits and / or points may be earned by the guest's chosen faction, which guests 18 may use for merchandise and / or services within the amusement park 10.

[0049] For example, if more guests 18 vote for a first faction (i.e., relatively "good"), the structure 118 may be shown to be reconstructed with relatively bright colors and relatively sharp geometric features. Conversely, if more guests 18 vote for a second faction (i.e., relatively "bad"), the structure 118 may be shown to be reconstructed with relatively dark colors and relatively eroded geometric features. Additionally, corresponding faction flags 120 corresponding to factions receiving more votes may be raised to a higher elevation (e.g., as generated physical effects 32, as directed by the physics interaction system 40) than faction flags 120 corresponding to factions receiving fewer votes. 4, faction flag 120A corresponding to the first faction (i.e., relatively "good") is elevated to a higher altitude than faction flag 120B corresponding to the second faction (i.e., relatively "bad") because the first faction received more guest faction votes during the operation (i.e., during the business day) of amusement park 10 than the second faction. Additionally, as also shown in FIG. 4, because the first faction (i.e., relatively "good (i.e., relatively "bad")) received more guest faction votes than the second faction during the business day of amusement park 10, structure 118 is shown in AR image 30 generated by AR image generator 28 to have relatively sharp geometric features.

[0050] Accordingly, various guest interactions with portable devices 20, wearable devices 22, thematic devices 24, and / or physical objects 26 (e.g., including faction flags 120) can be collectively tracked by image generation system 36, monitoring system 38, and physical interaction system 40 during the operation of amusement park 10 (e.g., during business days) to determine AR images 30 that can be generated by AR image generator 28 (i.e., as directed by image generation system 36) and physical effects 32 that can be generated by physical objects (e.g., faction flags 120, as directed by physical interaction system 40). Specifically, in the scenario shown in Figures 3 and 4, various guest interactions with the portable devices 20, the wearable devices 22, the thematic devices 24, and / or the physical objects 26 (e.g., including the faction flag 120) can be collectively tracked by the image generation system 36, the monitoring system 38, and the physical interaction system 40 during the operation of the amusement park 10 (e.g., during business days) to determine how the structure 118 should be shown restored using the AR images 30 generated by the AR image generator 28 (i.e., as directed by the image generation system 36), and to determine the relative height to which the faction flag 120 (i.e., as the physical object 26) can be raised (i.e., as the physical effect 32 directed by the physical interaction system 40).

[0051] 5 through 8 illustrate various ways in which a guest 18 may interact with a portable device 20, a wearable device 22, a themed device 24, and / or physical objects 26 (e.g., including faction flags 120) located within the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 for the scenarios illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, Figure 5 illustrates a graphical user interface 122 that may be displayed on the display 58 of the portable device 20 and that includes options that allow the guest 18 (or an employee 17, if directed by the guest 18) using the portable device 20 to select (i.e., vote for) the faction that the guest 18 prefers. It should be understood that selections made by or for guest 18 using portable device 20 can be communicated by portable device 20 to image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40 as described herein to facilitate image generation system 36 and / or physical interaction system 40 generating AR imagery 30 and / or physical effects 32, respectively, based at least in part on the selections made by or for guest 18 via portable device 20.

[0052] As another example, FIG. 6 shows wearable device 22 being brought relatively close (within a given predetermined distance, such as within 3 feet, within 2 feet, within 1 foot, or even closer in certain embodiments) to physical object 26 (e.g., faction flag 120 in the illustrated embodiment) that corresponds to a faction favored by guest 18 wearing wearable device 22. In certain embodiments, the proximity of the wearable device 22 to a particular faction flag 120 favored by the guest 18 wearing the wearable device 22 can be detected by the monitoring system 38 (e.g., via one or more tracking devices 94 of the monitoring system 38), and the detected proximity of the wearable device 22 to the faction flag 120 can be communicated by the monitoring system 38 to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 as described herein to facilitate the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 generating the AR image 30 and / or the physical effect 32, respectively, based at least in part on the detected proximity of the wearable device 22 to the faction flag 120 indicating a vote for the faction corresponding to the faction flag 120 to which the wearable device 22 is in relatively close proximity.

[0053] However, in other embodiments, the proximity of the wearable device 22 to a particular faction flag 120 preferred by the guest 18 wearing the wearable device 22 may be detected by a sensor 124 configured to detect when the wearable device 22 comes into proximity with or actually touches a sensor 124, for example, located on or within a portion of the faction flag 120 (e.g., the base 126 in certain embodiments), and the detected proximity of the wearable device 22 to the faction flag 120 may be transmitted via a facsimile as described herein. The faction flag 120 may communicate (e.g., via one or more communication interfaces 106 of the faction flag 120) to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 to facilitate the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 generating the AR image 30 and / or the physical effect 32, respectively, based at least in part on the detected proximity of the wearable device 22 to the faction flag 120 indicating a vote for the faction corresponding to the faction flag 120 to which the wearable device 22 is in relatively close proximity.

[0054] In yet other embodiments, the proximity of the guest 18 to a particular faction flag 120 that the guest 18 prefers can be detected by one or more tracking devices 94 of the monitoring system 38, and the detected proximity of the wearable device 22 to the faction flag 120 can be communicated by the monitoring system 38 to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 as described herein to facilitate the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 generating the AR image 30 and / or the physical effect 32, respectively, based at least in part on the detected proximity of the guest 18 to the faction flag 120 that indicates a vote for the faction corresponding to the faction flag 120 to which the guest 18 is in relatively close proximity.

[0055] As yet another example, Figure 7 illustrates a themed device 24 that may be manipulated by guest 18 (or by employee 17, if directed by guest 18) to indicate that guest 18 favors a particular faction. For example, in certain embodiments, as shown in Figure 7, the themed device 24 may be in the shape of a magic wand, and guest 18 (or employee 17, if directed by guest 18) may move the themed device 24 in a particular pattern 128 (e.g., as a magic wand to impart a particular spell) known to be associated with the particular faction favored by guest 18. In certain embodiments, movement of the thematic device 24 (i.e., corresponding to pattern 128) can be detected by the monitoring system 38 (e.g., via one or more tracking devices 94 of the monitoring system 38), and the detected movement of the thematic device 24 can be communicated by the monitoring system 38 to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 as described herein to facilitate the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 generating the AR image 30 and / or the physical effect 32, respectively, based at least in part on the detected movement of the thematic device 24 indicating a vote for the faction corresponding to pattern 128. However, in other embodiments, movement of the thematic device 24 (i.e., corresponding to pattern 128) can be detected by one or more orientation and position sensors 78 of the thematic device 24, and the detected movement of the thematic device 24 can be communicated by the thematic device 24 to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 as described herein (e.g., via one or more communication interfaces 82 of the thematic device 24) to facilitate the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 generating the AR image 30 and / or the physical effect 32, respectively, based at least in part on the detected movement of the thematic device 24 indicating a vote for the faction corresponding to pattern 128.

[0056] As yet another example, Figure 8 illustrates a guest 18 (or an employee 17, if directed by the guest 18) interacting with a physical object 26, such as a particular faction flag 120 that corresponds to a faction favored by the guest 18. For example, as shown in Figure 8, in certain embodiments, the guest 18 may interact (e.g., push, pull, turn, tap, etc.) with an input 130 (e.g., a button, knob, switch, etc.) associated with a particular faction flag 120 to vote for the particular faction associated with the particular faction flag 120. It should be appreciated that direct interaction with the physical object 26 (i.e., the input 130 of the faction flag 120 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 ) can be communicated by the physical object 26 (i.e., the faction flag 120) to the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 as described herein to facilitate the image generation system 36 and / or the physical interaction system 40 generating the AR image 30 and / or the physical effect 32, respectively, based at least in part on selections made by the guest 18, for example, via direct interaction with the input 130 of the faction flag 120.

[0057] 9 illustrates a method 138 for operating the augmented experience system 34 described herein, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, in certain embodiments, the method 138 includes tracking, via the augmented experience system of the amusement park, guest interactions of a plurality of guests 18 at the amusement park with one or more employees 17 at the amusement park 10, the amusement park 10, one or more portable devices 20, one or more wearable devices 22, one or more themed devices 24, or one or more physical objects located within the amusement park's real-world environment (block 140). Additionally, in certain embodiments, the method 138 includes augmenting, via the augmented experience system 34, the real-world environment of the amusement park 10 based at least in part on the data associated with the guest interactions (block 142).

[0058] While only certain features of the embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure.

[0059] The technology shown and claimed herein refers to and applies to tangible objects and specific examples of a practical nature that will materially improve the art, and thus are not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. Furthermore, where any claim appended at the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] ... [function]" or "step for [performing] ... [function]," such elements are to be construed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 112(f). Conversely, for any claim containing elements designated in any other manner, such elements are not to be construed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 112(f). [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 20;Mobile devices 22;Wearable devices 24;Thematic Devices 26;Physical Objects 28;AR image generator 30;AR image 36;Image Generation System 38; Surveillance System 40;Physical Interaction Systems 42;Wireless Network 46;Real World Images

Claims

1. an augmented experience system configured to: track guest interactions between a plurality of guests of the amusement park and one or more portable devices, one or more wearable devices, one or more thematic devices, or one or more physical objects disposed within a real-world environment of the amusement park; determine data related to the guest interactions by aggregating a number of the guest interactions from the plurality of guests, the data including at least one number corresponding to at least one amount of the guest interactions over a period of time; generate one or more augmented reality (AR) images based on the data; and augment the real-world environment of the amusement park based at least in part on the data related to the guest interactions by displaying the AR images on a display within the real-world environment of the amusement park or projecting the AR images into the real-world environment via a projector within the real-world environment of the amusement park; the guest interactions include manipulation by the plurality of guests of the one or more mobile devices, the one or more wearable devices, the one or more themed devices, or the one or more physical objects; Amusement park system.

2. The amusement park system of claim 1 , wherein the augmented experience system is configured to track the guest interactions during all hours of operation of the amusement park.

3. 10. The amusement park system of claim 1, wherein the guest interaction includes interaction with an input of the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more physical objects.

4. 10. The amusement park system of claim 1, wherein the guest interactions include a position, orientation, or movement of the plurality of guests, the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more themed devices.

5. 5. The amusement park system of claim 4, wherein the location, orientation, or movement of the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more themed devices is detected by orientation and location sensors disposed within the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more themed devices.

6. 5. The amusement park system of claim 4, wherein the location, orientation, or movement of the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more themed devices is detected by a monitoring system located within the real-world environment of the amusement park.

7. 10. The amusement park system of claim 1, wherein the guest interactions include proximity of locations of at least the plurality of guests, the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more themed devices to the one or more physical objects.

8. The augmented experience system includes: generating the one or more AR images based at least in part on the data related to the guest interaction; sending the AR image to one or more AR image generators located within the real-world environment of the amusement park; 10. The amusement park system of claim 1, comprising an image generation system configured to:

9. 9. The amusement park system of claim 8, wherein the image generation system is configured to generate the one or more AR images based at least in part on local settings stored on the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more thematic devices.

10. The amusement park system of claim 8 , wherein the image generation system is configured to generate the one or more AR images based at least in part on a global setting for the amusement park.

11. 9. The amusement park system of claim 8, wherein the image generation system is configured to generate the one or more AR images based at least in part on a current time, a current date, or a current weather in the real-world environment of the amusement park.

12. The augmented experience system includes: determining one or more physical effects to be performed on the one or more physical objects based at least in part on the data related to the guest interaction; sending one or more control signals to the one or more physical objects that implement the determined one or more physical effects; 10. The amusement park system of claim 1, including a physical interaction system configured to:

13. 13. The amusement park system of claim 12, wherein the physical interaction system is configured to generate the one or more physical effects based at least in part on local settings stored on the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, or the one or more thematic devices.

14. The amusement park system of claim 12 , wherein the physical interaction system is configured to determine the one or more physical effects based at least in part on a global setting for the amusement park.

15. 13. The amusement park system of claim 12, wherein the physical interaction system is configured to determine the one or more physical effects based at least in part on a current time, a current date, or a current weather in the real-world environment of the amusement park.

16. The amusement park system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more mobile devices include one or more mobile phones or tablet computers.

17. 10. The amusement park system of claim 1, wherein the one or more wearable devices include one or more wrist-mountable electronic devices, bracelets, charms, rings, headbands, glasses, hats, helmets, T-shirts, jackets, coats, shorts, pants, shoes, boots, or other wearable items.

18. The amusement park system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more themed devices include a model gun, a sword, a flag, or a wand.

19. 2. The amusement park system of claim 1, wherein the at least one number corresponding to the at least one amount of guest interactions over the period of time includes a first number corresponding to a first amount of guest interactions attributable to a first portion of the plurality of guests, and the at least one number corresponding to the at least one amount of guest interactions over the period of time includes a second number corresponding to a second amount of guest interactions attributable to a second portion of the plurality of guests, and the augmented experience system is configured to augment the real-world environment of the amusement park based at least in part on the data by selecting at least one augmentation in response to an analysis of the first number and the second number.

20. tracking, by an augmented experience system of an amusement park, guest interactions between a plurality of guests at the amusement park and one or more portable devices, one or more wearable devices, one or more themed devices, or one or more physical objects located within a real-world environment of the amusement park; aggregating the number of guest interactions from the plurality of guests to determine data related to the guest interactions, the data including at least one number corresponding to at least one amount of the guest interactions over a period of time; generating one or more augmented reality (AR) images based on the data, and displaying the AR images on a display within the real-world environment of the amusement park or projecting the AR images into the real-world environment via a projector within the real-world environment of the amusement park, whereby the augmented experience system augments the real-world environment of the amusement park based at least in part on the data related to the guest interactions; wherein the guest interactions include manipulation of the one or more portable devices, the one or more wearable devices, the one or more themed devices, or the one or more physical objects by the plurality of guests.

21. augmenting the real-world environment of the amusement park by generating, via an image generation system, the one or more AR images based at least in part on the data related to the guest interaction; sending the AR image via the image generation system to one or more AR image generators located within the real-world environment of the amusement park; 21. The method of claim 20, comprising:

22. augmenting the real-world environment of the amusement park by determining, via a physical interaction system, one or more physical effects to be performed on the one or more physical objects based at least in part on the data related to the guest interactions; sending one or more control signals via the physical interaction system to the one or more physical objects to perform the determined one or more physical effects; 21. The method of claim 20, comprising:

23. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one number corresponding to the at least one amount of guest interactions over the period of time includes a first number corresponding to a first amount of guest interactions attributable to a first portion of the plurality of guests, and the at least one number corresponding to the at least one amount of guest interactions over the period of time includes a second number corresponding to a second amount of guest interactions attributable to a second portion of the plurality of guests, and the method includes augmenting the real-world environment of the amusement park based at least in part on the data by selecting, via the augmented experience system, at least one augmentation in response to an analysis of the first number and the second number.

Images