Variable Effect Activation in Interactive Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interactive environments in amusement parks and entertainment venues often limit guest interaction to specific, pre-programmed actions, which can restrict immersion and enjoyment, especially for guests with varying abilities or preferences, as they may struggle to match exact motion or voice patterns to trigger effects.
Innovation Solution
A variable interactive effect system that uses sensors to generate signals, validate inputs, determine scores based on guest actions, and adjust activation levels to allow for personalized and dynamic effects, enabling a wide range of natural guest interactions to activate features, such as movement, voice, or gestures, without requiring strict matching to pre-programmed patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pre-programmed interaction patterns are used to trigger effects, then the system structure is simple and easy to control, but the adaptability to different guest abilities and preferences is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from static pre-programmed interaction patterns to dynamic gesture recognition. The system continuously monitors sensor data and adapts its response based on real-time analysis of guest gestures, allowing the interactive environment to flexibly accommodate varying guest abilities and preferences without requiring complex reconfiguration of the system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by modifying the sensitivity and recognition thresholds of gesture detection based on guest characteristics. The system adjusts parameters such as gesture amplitude thresholds, velocity thresholds, and tolerance ranges to accommodate different physical abilities, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining manageable system complexity through parameter tuning rather than structural redesign.
2Ease of operation
If strict matching to pre-programmed patterns is required, then the computational load is reduced, but the ease of operation for guests with varying abilities deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial or excessive action by implementing a tiered gesture recognition system. Instead of requiring perfect pattern matching, the system accepts partial matches and provides graduated responses. Guests can trigger effects with varying degrees of gesture precision, and the system processes only the necessary portion of the gesture data required to activate effects, reducing computational complexity while improving ease of operation.
3Reliability
If a wide range of natural interactions are accepted, then guest engagement and immersion are improved, but the system complexity and difficulty of detecting valid inputs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the gesture recognition process into distinct modular stages: data acquisition from multiple sensors, pre-processing and filtering, feature extraction, pattern matching, and effect activation. Each module handles a specific aspect of interaction detection, making the overall system more manageable despite accepting a wide range of natural interactions. This modular approach improves guest engagement while controlling the difficulty of detecting and validating inputs.
Data Source
AI summary
A variable effect activation system includes one or more sensors that generate data. The data can be assessed to determine if the data is indicative of a valid input to an interactive effect. Valid inputs may be assessed based on a lenient or relatively non-stringent threshold to permit a wide variety of guest actions to be considered valid inputs. While many of these guest actions may not be recognized as part of preprogrammed interactions with an interactive environment, the system nonetheless assesses characteristics of these inputs to provide an appropriate response, e.g., via activation of an interactive effect in a manner that aligns with the characteristics.