Smoothing Server for Interactive Asset Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Amusement park interactive assets often fail to respond appropriately to user interactions due to exceeding technical limits or creative intent, leading to potential damage or thematic mismatches, and require real-time processing to ensure an immersive experience.

Innovation Solution

A smoothing server that processes unfiltered user interaction data streams, using a model dataset to determine suitable actions for interactive assets, ensuring compliance with operational and creative intent rules, and generates processed data streams to instruct controllers for real-time action execution, including smoothing erratic data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the interactive asset responds directly to all user interactions without filtering, then the user experience is more responsive and engaging, but the interactive asset may exceed its technical limits or creative intent, leading to potential damage or thematic mismatches

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinteractive asset operational reliabilityVSAvoidreal-time processing delay

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The smoothing server performs preliminary filtering and validation of user interactions before they reach the interactive asset. By pre-processing the data stream to remove erratic inputs and enforce operational limits, the system prepares safe commands in advance, ensuring the interactive asset receives only valid instructions while maintaining real-time responsiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The smoothing server acts as an intermediary component between the user input devices and the interactive asset controller. It mediates the data stream by filtering erratic inputs, enforcing operational limits, and translating user interactions into asset-capable commands, thus protecting the interactive asset while preserving user experience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If the smoothing server processes all user interactions in real-time, then the user experience remains immersive and responsive, but the system complexity and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser experience immersionVSAvoidsmoothing server processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The smoothing server segments the processing of user interactions into distinct functional components: filtering erratic data, enforcing operational limits, and selecting appropriate asset responses. This modular approach organizes complex processing tasks into manageable segments, making the system more maintainable while preserving real-time performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The smoothing server changes parameters of the incoming data stream by applying filtering criteria, velocity limits, and operational constraints. It transforms raw user interactions into refined commands with adjusted parameters that match the interactive asset's capabilities, thereby simplifying the asset's processing requirements while maintaining user experience quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If the interactive asset operates beyond its defined limits, then more user interactions can be accommodated, but the asset may suffer damage or fail to maintain its intended thematic appearance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinteraction acceptance rangeVSAvoidasset damage risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The smoothing server implements beforehand cushioning by establishing operational limits and filters that prevent harmful inputs from reaching the interactive asset. It cushions the asset against erratic data and excessive commands by pre-validating all incoming interactions, thereby protecting the asset while still accommodating a wide range of user interactions within safe boundaries.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Solution Approach 2:

The smoothing server converts potentially harmful erratic user inputs into beneficial filtered commands. By identifying and removing problematic data patterns, it transforms what would be damaging inputs into safe, asset-appropriate commands, thereby protecting the interactive asset while maintaining responsiveness to legitimate user interactions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS20230390653A1Smoothing server for processing user interactions to control an interactive asset

Publication Date: 2023.12.07 UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS LLC

AI summary

An amusement park attraction system includes an interactive asset and a smoothing server. The smoothing server stores a model dataset associated with the interactive asset. The smoothing server is configured to receive an unfiltered data stream representing user interactions attempting to control the interactive asset, and to determine, based on the unfiltered data stream and the model dataset, whether the interactive asset is capable of responding to the user interactions. In response to determining that the interactive asset is capable of responding to the user interactions, the smoothing server processes the unfiltered data stream to generate a processed data stream and to select one or more actions for the interactive asset to perform in responding to the user interactions. The smoothing server sends instructions to the controller to cause the interactive asset to enact the one or more selected actions in accordance with the processed data stream.