Dynamic Ride Profile Control for Physics-Based Amusement Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional amusement park rides with programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are limited in providing realistic and dynamic experiences due to static programmed profiles and lack of capability to perform complex physics calculations, leading to a staged and unimmersive experience for passengers.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic control system that includes a game server generating game data, a dynamic ride profile server, and a PLC, which together receive input and sensor data to generate and conditionally execute a dynamic ride profile, allowing for realistic simulation movements and enhanced interaction with the environment and other vehicles based on physics models.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If PLCs are used to control ride vehicle movements, then the system is reliable and safe, but the processing power is insufficient to perform complex physics calculations
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple components: a game server for high-level physics calculations and ride profile generation, a dynamic ride profile server for processing sensor data and generating control commands, and PLCs for executing predefined control logic. This segmentation allows complex calculations to be performed by powerful servers while PLCs handle reliable real-time control within their processing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
A dynamic ride profile server acts as an intermediary between the game server and PLCs. It receives ride profile data from the game server, processes sensor data from the ride vehicle, and generates control commands that are sent to the PLCs. This intermediary layer bridges the gap between high-level simulation and low-level physical control, enabling complex physics-based ride experiences while maintaining PLC reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If static programmed profiles are used in PLCs, then the system is simple and reliable, but the ride experience becomes staged and unrealistic
Solution Approach 1:
The ride profile is transformed from a static programmed sequence to a dynamic adaptive profile. The game server generates ride profiles based on physics models and virtual environment interactions, allowing the ride experience to adapt in real-time based on virtual vehicle movements and sensor data, creating a more realistic and engaging experience.
Solution Approach 2:
A virtual environment and virtual vehicle are created as digital copies of the physical ride system. The game server simulates physics-based interactions in this virtual environment, and the resulting ride profiles are used to control the physical vehicle, bridging the gap between realistic simulation and physical constraints.
3Adaptability or versatility
If PLC programming is made more flexible to enable dynamic profiles, then the ride realism improves, but programming and debugging becomes more difficult and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional PLC programming for ride control is replaced with a server-based architecture using high-level programming languages and physics simulation engines. The game server and dynamic ride profile server handle complex programming tasks, allowing ride designers to create realistic physics-based experiences without needing extensive PLC programming expertise, thereby reducing development complexity and cost.
Data Source
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AI summary
Present embodiments are directed toward a dynamic control system for an amusement park ride. The system includes a game server that generates game data describing movement of a virtual vehicle through a virtual environment; a programmable logic controller (PLC) configured to conditionally execute instructions of a dynamic ride profile relative to one or more stored limits to operate physical actions of the ride vehicle; and a dynamic ride profile server communicatively coupled to the game server and the PLC. The dynamic ride profile server is configured to: receive input data, sensor data, and the game data; provide the received data as inputs to one or more physical models to generate a portion of a dynamic ride profile based on the movement of the virtual vehicle through the virtual environment; and provide the portion of the dynamic ride profile to the PLC for conditional execution.