Granular Surface Shaping via Transducer Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing immersive environments in entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, face challenges in updating and maintaining complex special effects, particularly in creating dynamic and interactive three-dimensional surfaces using granular materials, which are difficult to shape and maintain effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a base with transducers that cause local vibrations in granular particles to form shaped surfaces, combined with a controller that receives feedback to adjust transducer activation and projection mapping, allowing for dynamic and complex three-dimensional effects that can be easily reshaped or replenished.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If complex three-dimensional special effects are created using granular materials, then the immersion and realism of entertainment experiences are improved, but the difficulty of shaping and maintaining the surfaces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies mechanical vibration through transducers that vibrate at specific frequencies to manipulate granular materials into desired three-dimensional shapes. The vibration causes particles to move and settle into controlled patterns, enabling dynamic shaping of immersive environments without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by using feedback from sensors to automatically adjust transducer activation and projection mapping. The controller receives feedback about the current state of granular particles and autonomously modifies vibration patterns to maintain or reshape three-dimensional effects, eliminating the need for manual reconfiguration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional methods are used to create immersive environments, then the installation is complex and difficult to update, but if new methods are implemented, then the ability to update and change narratives is improved
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static to dynamic control by enabling real-time modification of three-dimensional granular surfaces. Transducers can be activated or deactivated in different patterns, and projection mapping can be adjusted dynamically, allowing narratives to be updated without physical reinstallation of the immersive environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes operational parameters such as transducer vibration frequency, amplitude, and activation patterns to create different three-dimensional configurations. By modifying these parameters rather than physical structures, the system enables easy updates to immersive environments while maintaining the same hardware installation.
3Manufacturing precision
If feedback control is implemented to dynamically shape granular surfaces, then the precision and responsiveness of the system are improved, but the computational requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control by using sensors to detect the current position and state of granular particles, then feeding this information back to the controller. The controller adjusts transducer activation based on this feedback to achieve precise shaping of the granular surface, continuously correcting deviations from the desired configuration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the creation of cost-effective, dynamic, and interactive three-dimensional illusions with granular materials, enhancing immersion by providing a malleable and easily maintainable surface that can be reshaped and updated, improving the complexity and realism of entertainment experiences.
Implementation Method 1
Each transducer of the plurality of transducers is configured to be activated to cause local vibration within the medium
Data Source
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AI summary
A system includes a medium disposed on a base, a plurality of transducers coupled to the base, and a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of transducers such that each individual transducer of the plurality of transducers is individually addressable by the controller. The controller is configured to receive feedback and to instruct at least some of the individual transducers of the plurality of transducers to activate to move the medium on the base to create a shaped surface based on the feedback.