Ride Control System for Amusement Park Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional amusement park rides offer limited control to passengers, resulting in a less adventurous and less immersive experience. Additionally, human operators are often required to monitor and manage ride vehicles, which can be costly and provide irregular coverage.
Innovation Solution
A ride control system that includes a processor-enabled ride controller with memory for operational and gameplay rules. This system monitors free-roaming ride vehicles, receives passenger requests, and determines whether actions comply with predefined rules. If an action does not comply, the system determines a proximate action that adheres to the rules and sends a control signal to the ride vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If passengers are given greater control over ride vehicles for a more adventurous experience, then rider satisfaction and immersion are improved, but safety control and operational reliability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors ride vehicle positions, passenger actions, and environmental conditions through sensors and cameras. Real-time feedback is processed by the control system to dynamically adjust control permissions, provide haptic feedback to riders, and automatically intervene when safety thresholds are approached, allowing both passenger freedom and safety oversight
Solution Approach 2:
An automated control system acts as an intermediary between passengers and ride vehicles. This intermediary layer receives passenger input, validates it against safety rules, and executes approved commands while blocking unsafe actions. The system mediates between rider autonomy desires and safety requirements without needing constant human operator intervention
2Reliability
If human operators monitor and manage ride vehicles, then safety and control are improved, but operational cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ride system performs self-monitoring and self-management through automated sensors, processors, and control algorithms. The system independently tracks vehicle positions, detects anomalies, enforces safety rules, and communicates with riders without requiring human operators for routine monitoring tasks, reducing both cost and complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
Manual human monitoring and control operations are replaced with an automated electronic control system comprising sensors, processors, communication modules, and actuators. This substitution eliminates the need for human operators while providing continuous, consistent monitoring and control, reducing operational complexity and cost
3Adaptability or versatility
If free-roaming ride vehicles operate without predefined tracks, then rider experience and immersion are improved, but control precision and safety management worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static track-based constraints to dynamic virtual boundaries and safety zones that are continuously calculated and adjusted based on real-time vehicle positions, environmental conditions, and safety requirements. This allows free-roaming movement within safely defined dynamic constraints
Solution Approach 2:
The control system adds a virtual/digital dimension layer over the physical ride space. GPS coordinates, virtual boundaries, and digital safety zones create an invisible control framework that guides and constrains free-roaming vehicles without physical tracks, enabling position precision through software rather than mechanical guidance
Data Source
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AI summary
A ride control system for controlling a free-roaming ride vehicle of an amusement park ride is described. The ride control system comprises a controller having a memory storing a plurality of operational rules and a plurality of gameplay rules, wherein the controller itself comprises a processor. The processor is configured to carry out the following actions. It monitors the free-roaming ride vehicle within a game area of the amusement park ride. It also receives a rider request to perform an action with the free-roaming ride vehicle. The processor then determines, based on the monitoring, whether a performance of the action follows the plurality of operational rules. In response to determining that the performance of the action follows the plurality of operational rules, the processor determines, based on the monitoring, whether the performance of the action follows the plurality of gameplay rules. In response to determining that the performance of the action does not follow the plurality of gameplay rules, the processor determines a proximate action, and provides a control signal indicative of the proximate action to the free-roaming ride vehicle. An associated method is also described.