NEW Invention Shows the Impact of COVID-19 on Theme Park Technology

What you WEAR inside theme parks could change in a big way!

Theme park technology is constantly changing and evolving. We’ve seen all kinds of interesting patents filed over the years for everything from food that moves to virtual world simulators. But another patent published in 2022 shows where theme park technology could be headed next!

Wait…What’s Going On?

First, let’s go over some basic background. The patent we’re talking about is for “INTERACTIVE WEARABLE DEVICES AND FACIAL COVERINGS.” It was filed by Universal City Studios, LLC (associated with Universal Orlando) in March of 2022 and published in October of 2022. It appears to be related to a patent from 2021.

What Does It Do?

So what exactly is an interactive wearable device or facial covering and what does this tech do? Well, let’s start with some background. In the application, Universal explains that theme parks often have attractions or experiences where people wear certain devices — maybe it’s a wristband (like a MagicBand+, perhaps?), eyewear, virtual reality glasses, badges, etc. as part of the experience.

But sometimes it might be desirable to be able to show some media content on those wearable devices to create an immersive experience. The media shown through the wearable devices could also provide notifications (like safety notifications, directions to a specific ride, a notification about your food order, or more) to help guests.

That’s where this new patent comes in. The patent goes through some “embodiments” meant to show possible ways the tech could be used. In one example, they describe how the wearable device could have a display that faces away from the wearer, out to other guests. The device would also have a location identification system in it, so it could determine where the wearer is and where others may be in relation.

There is then another piece of technology that receives data about the wearer’s location, determines if that meets certain criteria, and then instructs the display to show a specific image.

Multiple wearable devices could even be linked together to really make things interactive.

The patent goes on to note that the display might use LEDs or other kinds of electronic displays, and it might face the user or other guests to provide those notifications and other images.

How might this be used? Well, in one example they note that if there’s a certain amount of spacing between guests that is desired, the wearable device might show a “smile” on the display to indicate that the appropriately safe distance is being maintained.

What if you get TOO close? Well, they share that the display could change. For example, it may “grow to a smile up until a particular distance and then start turning into a frown as the distance is passed…if a user approaches to within 3 meters, a smile may be presented and then turn into a bigger and bigger frown as the distance shrinks beyond 2 meters.”

They go on to note that parts of the system could use the location data to customize images on the display. For example, they say that a user’s display could depict the other user’s name with a request to stay 6 feet away (“e.g., “Hi Bob, please stay 2 meters away”).

What’s also really interesting is that the patent explains that if you’re traveling in a group with wearable devices, you may be able to tell the system that it can disregard those determined “allowable” distances for people within your group — letting you stand closer to your friends than to others outside of your travel party.

While a lot of this seems to be related to keeping distance between guests, the patent explains other potential ways it could be used. For example, it could track if people within a group move outside of a maximum threshold distance from another user. This could stop individuals from a specific group (like family members or a school group) from wandering away and getting lost.

To track where a person is or where others are in relation to the guest, there may be RFID, infrared cameras, or other technology incorporated. That can help the system as a whole determine how far guests are from one another, but also potentially their orientation (like what way a person is looking), where a specific body part is located, or more.

How Could This Tech Be Used at Universal Orlando?

They go so far as to say that in certain examples, the processor might even be able to get location data from a skeletal tracker device 👀 and be able to identify body parts based on a model of joints and body parts that has been generated by the skeletal tracker. We don’t know about you but “skeletal tracker” isn’t a phrase we had on our bingo sheet today!

They specifically note that this could help the location identifier determine if users are not wearing a facial covering (whether that is a mask, glasses, face shield, or something else).

In some cases, the wearer would be able to control the images on the display so they could select a specific message, image, or even greeting to be displayed.

And your phone might get connected to the system as a whole. The patent explains that part of the system might generate and transmit a notification or message to a mobile device connected to the wearable device.

Again, these are just examples of how the technology could be used and many of them seem to have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 technology (and perhaps a desire to prepare for a world where mask-wearing is more common or needed again in the future). But these are just examples, and the tech could be applied to other wearable technology and other situations, as the patent notes.