Optical User-Object Association for Personalized Attraction Interaction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing amusement park attractions struggle to provide personalized and interactive experiences due to difficulties in accurately associating users with their handheld or wearable objects, especially in environments with overlapping visual data.

Innovation Solution

An attraction system using optical sensors and controllers to track user and object movements, employing reference elements and algorithms to correlate user motions with object motions, enabling accurate association and personalized interactions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If optical sensors are used to track user and object movements in an amusement park attraction, then personalized and interactive experiences can be enabled, but accurately associating users with their objects becomes difficult due to overlapping visual data

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepersonalized interaction capabilityVSAvoiduser-object association accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces reference elements (such as visual markers or tracking features) as intermediaries between users and objects. These reference elements are attached to objects and detected by optical sensors to establish reliable associations. The reference elements serve as mediators that enable the system to track object movements and correlate them with user actions even in visually complex environments with multiple users and objects

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces traditional mechanical or RFID-based tracking systems with optical sensing and computer vision algorithms. By using cameras and image processing to detect reference elements, the system achieves non-contact, high-speed tracking of multiple users and objects simultaneously, enabling personalized interactions without the limitations of physical tags or mechanical sensors

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If traditional tracking methods are used without motion correlation, then system complexity is reduced, but the ability to provide personalized interactions based on individual user actions is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem implementation simplicityVSAvoidpersonalized interaction capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously monitors the correlation between user motions and object motions, and uses this information to maintain accurate associations. The controller receives optical data, processes it to detect correlated motion patterns, and updates user-object associations in real-time based on the detected correlations, enabling the system to adapt to changing conditions and provide personalized interactions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes user-object associations by detecting correlated motions before personalized interactions begin. The system pre-processes optical data to identify which objects are held or manipulated by which users based on motion correlation, so that when interactive features are activated, the correct user profiles and personalized responses are already associated with the appropriate objects

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4438145B1Interactive attraction system and method for object and user association
Publication Date: 2026.03.18 UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS LLC
  • EP4438145B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4438145B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4438145B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

There is provided a control system of an attraction, the control system comprising a controller (60) configured to: receive optical data indicative of motions of a plurality of users (52) and motions of a plurality of objects (54) in the attraction; identify a first motion of a user (52A) of the plurality of users (52) based on the optical data; identify a second motion of an object (54A) of the plurality of objects (54) based on the optical data; detect a correlation between the first motion of the user (52A) and the second motion of the object (54A); and determine the object (54A) is associated with the user (52A) based on the correlation.