This NEW Universal Patent Could Change How You Experience Rides

In this day and age, theme parks need to be constantly innovating to stay at the top of the heap.

Universal’s Epic Universe is probably the biggest example — this entirely new theme park will likely change the game for the entire industry. That, combined with the rise of artificial intelligence in nearly every aspect of our lives, makes this new patent pretty interesting.

Artificial intelligence certainly isn’t new to the theme park industry, but this new patent filed by Universal seeks to use it in a new way.

The patent, called “Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted and Dynamic Ride Profile Head Tracking Systems and Methods,” seeks to create more spontaneity in ride environments — specifically as it pertains to how visual elements move and react.

So, how would AI help with that? According to the patent, “Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms such as machine learning algorithms, deep learning algorithms, artificial neural networks (ANN), etc. may be used to predict where a passenger’s direction of attention will be focused in real-time based on historical data and/or current head and/or eye position data. For example, head-tracking and/or eye-tracking may be performed over a training period and/or throughout the life of a ride system to train an AI algorithm to predict where a passenger is likely to be looking at any point in time (e.g., a current/real-time point in time) or on average during operation of the ride system.”

The patent continues that the “predicted direction of attention may be used to enhance and/or speed up processing that is reliant upon the passenger’s direction of attention such as generation of the dynamic ride profile and/or regulation of content rendering.”

Essentially, a ride system could use moment or motion data from the ride vehicle that could be controlled by the rider which would make the ride vehicle act like it would in a realistic environment.