Theme Park Crowd Control Using Wearables and Activity Commands

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Solution Overview

Problem

Amusement parks face challenges in managing crowd control and wait times, leading to negative experiences for guests and increased maintenance needs due to higher guest traffic.

Innovation Solution

A crowd management system with interactive equipment elements and wearable devices that adjust activity levels based on crowd metrics, incentivizing guests to redistribute and offering alternative activities to reduce congestion, while also monitoring and managing maintenance needs of park equipment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If additional attractions are added to increase park capacity, then the park can accommodate more guests, but wait times and crowd density do not decrease due to corresponding increase in attendance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepark capacityVSAvoidwait times
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic adjustment of attraction operational parameters (wait time thresholds, dispatch rates, capacity limits) based on real-time crowd metrics. The system continuously monitors attendance and automatically modifies attraction operations to optimize guest flow and minimize wait times, transforming static capacity planning into a dynamic response system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system employs real-time feedback loops where crowd metrics (attendance, wait times, density) are continuously measured and fed back to control attraction operations. This closed-loop control enables the park to respond to changing crowd conditions and adjust operations to maintain optimal service levels despite varying attendance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Ease of operation

If more interactive equipment elements are kept active to enhance guest experience, then guest engagement increases, but maintenance frequency and equipment failure risk increase due to higher usage

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguest experienceVSAvoidequipment reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the operational state of interactive equipment elements based on real-time conditions. Equipment elements are activated or deactivated according to crowd metrics, attraction dispatch rates, and maintenance needs, optimizing the balance between guest engagement and equipment preservation without requiring manual intervention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Productivity

If real-time monitoring of all guests is implemented to manage crowd distribution, then crowd control effectiveness improves, but system complexity and data processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecrowd control effectivenessVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and processes only the essential crowd metrics needed for effective management (attendance counts, wait times, density measurements) rather than monitoring all possible guest data. This selective data extraction reduces processing complexity while maintaining crowd control effectiveness by focusing on the most relevant parameters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3718062B1System and method for crowd management and maintenance operations
Publication Date: 2026.03.25 UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS LLC
  • EP3718062B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3718062B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3718062B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A crowd management system 100 includes at least one local controller 107 associated with an attraction area 149 of an individual attraction 148 within a theme park. The crowd management system 100 includes a transceiver 606 of the at least one local controller 107, where the transceiver 606 receives guests data via wireless signals from guest-associated devices 110 within a detection range of the local controller 107. The crowd management system 100 includes a remote central controller 102 in communication with the at least one local controller 107 and the guest-associated device 110. The remote central controller 102 receives the guest data from the at least one local controller 107 and determines one or more crowd metrics of the individual attraction 148 based on the guest data. The remote central controller 102 generates an activity command based on the one or more crowd metrics. The remote central controller 102 transmits the activity command to at least one guest-associated device 110 of the guest-associated devices 110.