Patently Perfect: Augmented Reality Experience
On September 1, 1936, Walter E. Disney submitted a patent application for a device called Art of Animation. The Art of Animation was the multiplane camera invented by Bill Garity and Ub Iwerks while working at the Walt Disney Studios. Today, Disney Enterprise Inc. continues the tradition of innovation started by Walt and his team. For the Disney fan, patents and patent applications grant us a glimpse behind the existing magic and a look to the future.
The official title of United States Patent Application 20130130813 is “System and Method for Providing and Augmented Reality Experience”. A technical name for a unique and interactive roller coaster concept. After sifting through all the legal jargon (“The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings…”), four major components really set this ride a part from others. According to the patent application, the ride combines a heads up display (HUD), real-time interaction between a virtual venue and physical venue, haptic feedback, and transporter.
Imagine riding Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom. Instead of looking down to see your score, with a heads up display you are able to see your score while looking for your next target. Now imagine Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is actually a roller coaster similar to Space Mountain. The first major part of this ride is a heads up display used in a potential shooting game, all while traveling on a roller coaster. As described in the patent application, the heads up display potentially allows each rider a personalized experienced. While your ride partner might see an enemy approaching on their heads up display, yours could have something completely different. The personalized experience also allows the option to tailor the experience to the rider’s skill level. With the recent advances in 3D technology, there is the potential for a 3D heads up display as well.
The next part of the patent is the interaction between a virtual venue and physical venue. This means whatever happens on your heads up display corresponds to something happening around you. Keeping with the Buzz Lightyear example, if you fire at the Evil Emperor Zurg and destroy his ship on your heads up display, a corresponding effect triggers around you. The connection between your virtual venue (the heads up display), and the physical venue allows interaction with other players. If another player triggers an effect in the physical venue, your virtual console will be aware and react accordingly.
In order to add another dimension to the experience, the patent includes a haptic feedback system. Haptic means “relating to or based on the sense of touch.” If you play console video games, such as the Xbox or PlayStation 3, some games provide haptic feedback through a vibrating controller. Similarly, the patent refers to the transporter, or the roller coaster train, responding to both the virtual and physical venue. For example, if you are hit by an enemy ship, your transporter may shake, tip, rotate, or feel warmer or cooler.
The last part of the patent application is the transporter itself. As mentioned earlier, the transporter or roller coaster train travels along a fixed track through a themed environment. The themed environment and transporter react to both computer and rider actions. In order to react accordingly, the transporter will be able to tip or rotate while continuing along the fixed track.
The ride discussed here references several different patents of amusement rides that move through a physical venue with a virtual game aspect. It also includes a reference to a haptic feedback system for video game consoles. Most interestingly though, is the reference to US Patent Application 20070089632 for a multi-track warring roller coaster. The example provided in the warring coaster patent application is specifically Star Wars – the rebel alliance versus the galactic empire. Jonathan Gordon submitted the warring coaster application in 2007. However, throughout the Disney patent application, the example ride theme is space-warfare. Now, does that mean these are the secret plans for a Star Wars attraction? Probably not, but it’s fun to dream about.