Gesture-Controlled Audio System for Puppeted Character Performers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current walk-around character performers in theme parks are limited by their inability to engage in verbal interactions with guests, which can be frustrating for younger guests and particularly challenging for visually impaired guests who rely on sound and touch.
Innovation Solution
A gesture and show control system that allows a puppeted walk-around character performer to trigger pre-recorded sound bites using simple gestures and poses, enabling authentic voice interactions with guests while maintaining the illusion of the character speaking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a puppeted walk-around character performer is used to engage with guests, then the character can physically interact with guests, but the performer cannot talk and verbal exchange is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses an intermediary audio system that plays pre-recorded character voices through speakers positioned in the costume. This mediator allows the performer's physical actions to be accompanied by authentic character dialogue, bridging the gap between the performer's inability to speak and the guests' expectation of hearing the character's voice.
Solution Approach 2:
The system copies the character's authentic voice through pre-recorded audio clips that are triggered by the performer's gestures. This copying approach preserves the character's original voice and personality while allowing the performer to control when and what the character says, solving the contradiction between physical presence and verbal communication.
2Reliability
If pre-recorded sound bites are triggered by gestures, then authentic character voice is preserved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The audio system is segmented into multiple pre-recorded sound bites organized in a decision tree structure. This segmentation allows the complex audio control to be broken down into manageable, discrete audio clips that can be independently triggered by specific gestures, reducing the overall system complexity while maintaining voice authenticity.
Solution Approach 2:
The audio clips are pre-recorded and organized in advance according to a decision tree that maps gestures to appropriate responses. This preliminary preparation of audio content and its organization into a structured decision framework simplifies the real-time control requirements, as the system only needs to select from pre-organized options rather than generate or process complex audio in real-time.
3Adaptability or versatility
If gesture control is implemented for sound triggering, then visual impaired guests can interact with the character, but the control system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces traditional mechanical or visual control interfaces with gesture-based control that can be detected through motion sensors. This substitution allows visually impaired guests to interact with the character through natural body movements rather than requiring visual cues or complex mechanical interfaces, enhancing accessibility while using sensor technology to manage system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A gesture and show control system for a puppeted walk-around character performer used for engaging directly with guests. The system having a power management, a costume and show controller has one or more than one processor that has storage for storing instructions executable on the one or more than one processor for operating and controlling the puppet, an audio subsystem, one or more than one control sensor, one or more than one visual indicator, and one or more than one glove control operably connected to the costume and show controller.