Patent Description:
This section is intended to introduce aspects of art that may be related to the techniques of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing background information to facilitate a better understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light and not as an admission of prior art.

Ride systems, such as a roller coaster ride system, are often deployed at amusement parks, theme parks, carnivals, fairs, and/or the like. Generally, a ride system includes a ride environment and one or more ride vehicles, which are implemented and/or operated to carry (e.g., support) one or more riders through the ride environment. For example, a roller coaster ride system may include a track ride environment and a car ride vehicle. As another example, a lazy river ride system may include a pool ride environment and an inner tube ride vehicle. To facilitate providing a more exhilarating and/or different (e.g., simulated) ride experience, a ride system may be implemented and/or operated to present virtual reality content to its riders. <CIT> describes a game machine for a moving object having both a position detecting device being operable to detect a position of a person riding on the moving object on a course of movement to obtain position information and a direction detection device being operable to detect a direction of a field of vision of the person to obtain direction information. The game machine also has a memory being operable to store visual and auditory information regarding a change in the course of movement and a central processing part being operable to select visual and auditory information corresponding to the position of the person and the direction of the field of vision of the person riding on the moving object based on the position information of the position detection device and the direction information of the direction detection device. A speaker and a display are used to output the selected auditory and visual information, respectively.

Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood upon reading the detailed description and upon reference to the drawings, in which:.

In an embodiment, a virtual reality (VR) ride system includes a ride vehicle configured to support a rider and traverse a variable ride environment, an electronic display that presents virtual reality image content to the rider carried through the variable ride environment by the ride vehicle, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the electronic display and one or more sensors that record sensor data indicative of a movement profile of the ride vehicle in the variable ride environment, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the sensor data from the one or more sensors, and determine a predicted ride vehicle trajectory of the ride vehicle within the variable ride environment based on the sensor data indicative of the movement profile of the ride vehicle and a ride vehicle movement prediction model, wherein the predicted ride vehicle trajectory corresponds to a predicted movement magnitude of the ride vehicle during a predicted movement duration. The one or more processors are configured to determine a target perceived movement magnitude greater than the predicted movement magnitude, and determine movement-exaggerated VR image content to be presented on the electronic display during the predicted movement duration by adjusting default image content to incorporate the target perceived movement magnitude.

In an example useful for understanding the present invention, a method of operating a virtual reality ride system includes receiving, using processing circuitry implemented in the virtual reality ride system, sensor data determined by one or more sensors while a ride vehicle is moving through a ride environment of the virtual reality ride system, predicting, using the processing circuitry, a movement magnitude that the ride vehicle will experience at a time during a prediction horizon based at least in part on the sensor data received from the one or more sensors, applying, using the processing circuitry, one or more movement-exaggeration factors to the movement magnitude that the ride vehicle is predicted to experience at the time during the prediction horizon to determine a target perceived movement magnitude that differs from the movement magnitude that the ride vehicle is predicted to experience, and adapting, using the processing circuitry, default virtual reality content corresponding with the time during the prediction horizon based at least in part on the target perceived movement magnitude to determine movement-exaggerated virtual reality content to be presented to a rider of the ride vehicle at the time.

In an embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory, computer readable medium stores instructions executable by one or more processors of a virtual reality ride system. The instructions include instructions to receive sensor data indicative of a movement profile of a ride vehicle traversing a variable ride environment, wherein the sensor data is received from one or more sensors associated with the ride vehicle and configured to record data corresponding to the movement profile of the ride vehicle, determine a predicted ride vehicle trajectory of the ride vehicle within the variable ride environment based on the sensor data and a ride vehicle movement prediction model, wherein the predicted ride vehicle trajectory corresponds to a predicted movement magnitude during a predicted movement duration, determine, a target perceived movement magnitude that is greater than the predicted movement magnitude; and determine movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content by adjusting default image content to incorporate the target perceived movement magnitude, wherein the movement-exaggerated VR image content is configured to be presented to a rider via an electronic display during the predicted movement duration.

These described embodiments are only examples of the presently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but may nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

Ride systems are often deployed at amusement parks, theme parks, carnivals, fairs, and/or the like. Generally, a ride system includes a ride environment and one or more ride vehicles, which are implemented and/or operated to carry (e.g., support) one or more riders through the ride environment. For example, a lazy river ride system may include a pool ride environment and one or more inner tube ride vehicles. As another example, a log flume ride system may include a flume ride environment and one or more artificial log ride vehicles. As a further example, a boat ride system may include a water body ride environment and one or more boat ride vehicles. Accordingly, physical (e.g., actual and/or real) movement (e.g., motion) of a rider on a ride system may generally be dependent on movement of a ride vehicle carrying the rider.

To facilitate providing a more exhilarating and/or different (e.g., simulated) ride experience, a ride system may be implemented and/or operated to present virtual reality (VR) content to its riders. For example, a virtual reality ride system may be implemented and/or operated to artificially produce one or more sensory stimuli, such as an audio (e.g., sound) stimuli, a tactile (e.g., haptic) stimuli, and/or a visual (e.g., optical) stimuli. To facilitate artificially producing visual stimuli, a virtual reality ride system may include one or more electronic displays, such as a vehicle display and/or a head-mounted display, implemented and/or operated to display (e.g., present) virtual reality image content.

Generally, visual stimuli are perceived by a human's visual system. In fact, at least in some instances, changes in perceived visual stimuli over time may enable a human to detect motion (e.g., movement). For example, when a perceived visual stimuli is translated left over time, the human may perceive (e.g., determine and/or detect) that he/she is moving right relative to the perceived visual stimuli or vice versa. Additionally or alternatively, when a perceived visual stimuli is translated upward over time, the human may perceive that he/she is moving downward relative to the perceived visual stimuli or vice versa.

Movement of a human may additionally or alternatively be perceived by the human's vestibular system (e.g., inner ear). In other words, at least in some instances, movement of a human may be perceived by the human's vestibular system as well as by the human's visual system. However, at least in some instances, a mismatch between the movement perceived by the human's vestibular system and the movement perceived by the human's visual system may result in the human experiencing motion sickness.

In other words, at least in some instances, a rider on a virtual reality ride system may experience motion sickness, which affects (e.g., reduces and/or degrades) the ride experience, when visually perceived movement does not match movement perceived by the rider's vestibular system. As described above, a ride vehicle may carry a rider through a ride environment of a virtual reality ride system and, thus, movement of the rider may be dependent at least in part on movement of the ride vehicle. Thus, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, a virtual reality ride system may coordinate virtual reality content with physical ride vehicle movement. For example, the virtual reality ride system may display virtual reality image content that is expected to result in characteristics, such as magnitude, time, duration, and/or direction, of visually perceived movement matching corresponding characteristics of movement perceived by the rider's vestibular system.

In other words, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, in some instances, a virtual reality ride system may generate virtual reality image content based at least in part on characteristics of physical (e.g., actual and/or real) movement of a ride vehicle and, thus, a rider carried by the ride vehicle. For example, when the ride vehicle moves in an upward direction a magnitude of five meters, the virtual reality ride system may present virtual reality image content that is expected to result in a rider visually perceiving an upward movement of five meters. However, at least in some instances, implementing a virtual reality ride system in this manner may limit magnitude (e.g., distance) of movement visually perceived from virtual reality content and, thus, exhilaration (e.g., excitement) provided by the virtual reality ride system to the magnitude of the physical movement. In other words, at least in some instances, presenting virtual reality content that results in magnitudes of perceived movement exactly matching may limit exhilaration and, thus, ride experience provided by a virtual reality ride system.

Accordingly, to facilitate improving ride experience, the present disclosure provides techniques for implementing and/or operating a virtual reality ride system to present virtual reality content that exaggerates (e.g., increases and/or amplifies) physical movement (e.g., motion) experienced by a ride vehicle and, thus, a rider being carried by the ride vehicle. To facilitate providing a virtual reality ride experience, a virtual reality ride system may include a virtual reality sub-system implemented and/or operated to generate virtual reality content, such as virtual reality image content to be presented (e.g., displayed) on an electronic display. The virtual reality sub-system may additionally be implemented and/or operated to present the virtual reality content, for example, by displaying the virtual reality image content on the electronic display based at least in part on corresponding image data.

As described above, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, a virtual reality ride system may present virtual reality content to a rider of a ride vehicle such that movement perceived from the virtual reality content is coordinated with physical (e.g., real and/or actual) movement of the ride vehicle. For example, to compensate for physical movement of a ride vehicle, the virtual reality ride system may generate and display virtual reality image content that results in visually perceived movement occurring at approximately the same time, for approximately the same duration, and/or in approximately the same direction as the physical movement of the ride vehicle. In fact, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality content by adapting (e.g., adjusting) default virtual reality content, for example, which corresponds with a default (e.g., stationary and/or planned) ride vehicle movement profile.

To facilitate coordinating presentation of virtual reality content with physical movement of a ride vehicle, a virtual reality ride system may include one or more sensors, such as a vehicle sensor, a rider (e.g., head-mounted display) sensor, and/or an environment sensor. For example, a ride vehicle may include one or more vehicle sensors, such as a gyroscope and/or accelerometer, which are implemented and/or operated to sense (e.g., measure and/or determine) characteristics of ride vehicle movement, such as movement time, movement duration, movement direction (e.g., orientation), and/or movement magnitude (e.g., distance). As such, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may coordinate presentation of virtual reality content with ride vehicle movement at least in part by presenting movement-coordinated virtual reality content at approximately the same time as sensor data indicative of occurrence of the ride vehicle movement is determined (e.g., sensed and/or measured).

However, at least in some instances, generation and/or presentation (e.g., display) of virtual reality content is generally non-instantaneous. In other words, at least in some such instances, reactively generating and/or presenting virtual reality content may result in presentation of movement-coordinated virtual reality content being delayed relative to a corresponding ride vehicle movement. Merely as an illustrative non-limiting example, due to the non-instantaneous nature, reactively generating and/or presenting movement-coordinated virtual reality image content may result in the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content being displayed after the corresponding ride vehicle movement has already occurred, which, at least in some instances, may result in increased motion sickness.

Thus, to facilitate coordinating presentation of movement-coordinated virtual reality content with a corresponding ride vehicle movement, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may predict characteristics, such as movement time, movement duration, movement direction, and/or movement magnitude, of the ride vehicle movement over a prediction horizon (e.g., subsequent period of time). In other words, in such embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile (e.g., trajectory) over the prediction horizon. For example, the predicted ride vehicle movement profile may indicate that a corresponding ride vehicle moves a first distance (e.g., magnitude) in a first direction from a first time to a second (e.g., subsequent) time, a second distance in a second direction from the second time to a third (e.g., subsequent) time, and so on.

To facilitate determining a predicted ride vehicle movement profile, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may utilize a ride vehicle movement prediction model that describes expected relationships between characteristics of ride vehicle movement and sensor data, for example, received from a vehicle sensor deployed on a ride vehicle, a rider sensor associated with a rider, and/or an environment sensor deployed in a ride environment. Thus, in such embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile at least in part by supplying (e.g., inputting) the sensor data to the ride vehicle movement prediction model. In some embodiments, a ride vehicle movement prediction model may additionally describe expected relationships between characteristics of ride vehicle movement and one or more control commands used to control operation of a ride vehicle. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a ride vehicle movement prediction model may describe expected relationships between characteristics of ride vehicle movement and a default (e.g., planned) movement profile of a ride vehicle.

Based on a predicted ride vehicle movement profile (e.g., predicted ride vehicle movement characteristics over time), a virtual reality ride system may preemptively (e.g., predictively) generate and/or present movement-coordinated virtual reality content. For example, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generate and/or display movement-coordinated virtual reality image content with a target display time set to match the predicted movement time of a corresponding ride vehicle movement. Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generate and/or display movement-coordinated virtual reality image content with a target display duration set to match the predicted movement duration of a corresponding ride vehicle movement. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generate and/or display movement-coordinated virtual reality image content to produce a visually perceived movement direction that matches the predicted movement direction (e.g., orientation) of a corresponding ride vehicle movement. Moreover, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system may generate and/or display movement-coordinated virtual reality image content based at least in part on the predicted movement magnitude (e.g., distance) of a corresponding ride vehicle movement.

In some embodiments, movement-coordinated virtual reality content may be presented to produce a perceived movement magnitude that does not exactly match the predicted movement magnitude (e.g., distance) of a corresponding ride vehicle movement. In other words, in such embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality content based on a target perceived movement magnitude that differs from the predicted movement magnitude of the corresponding ride vehicle movement. For example, the target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude may be greater than the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude to facilitate providing a more exhilarating and, thus, improved ride experience.

To facilitate determining a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude greater than a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system may determine one or more movement-exaggeration factors to be applied to the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude. For example, the movement-exaggeration factors may include one or more offset values, which when applied, bias the target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude relative to the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude. Additionally or alternatively, the movement-exaggeration factors may include one or more gain values, which when applied, scale the target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude relative to the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude. However, presenting movement-coordinated virtual reality content generated based on a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude that differs from a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude may produce a mismatch between perceived movement magnitudes, which potentially causes motion sickness and, thus, affects (e.g., reduces) the ride experience provided by a virtual reality ride system.

To facilitate improving ride experience, in some embodiments, the value of one or more movement-exaggeration factors may be calibrated (e.g., tuned) via a calibration (e.g., tuning) process, for example, performed offline at least in part by a design system and/or a design device in the design system. During the calibration process, in some embodiments, a design device may determine and evaluate one or more candidate movement-exaggeration factors. For example, the candidate movement-exaggeration factors may include a first candidate movement-exaggeration factor with a largest (e.g., first) value, a second candidate movement-exaggeration factor with a next largest (e.g., second) value, and so on.

To select a movement-exaggeration factor from the multiple candidates during the calibration process, in some embodiments, the design device may successively (e.g., sequentially and/or serially) evaluate whether the candidate movement-exaggeration factors result in motion sickness, for example, progressing from the largest value candidate movement-exaggeration factor to the smallest value candidate movement-exaggeration factor To help illustrate, continuing with the above example, the design device may evaluate whether the first candidate movement-exaggeration factor, which has the largest value of the candidates, results in motion sickness, for example, based on a user input received from a user (e.g., rider) presented with movement-exaggerated (e.g., coordinated) virtual reality content generated using the first candidate movement-exaggeration factor When motion sickness does not result, the design device may select the first candidate as the movement-exaggeration factor to be used to by a virtual reality ride system to generate subsequent movement-coordinated virtual reality content, for example, by storing it in the virtual reality ride system.

When the first candidate movement-exaggeration factor results in motion sickness, the design device may evaluate whether the second candidate movement-exaggeration factor, which has the next largest value of the candidates, results in motion sickness, for example, based on a user input received from a user presented with movement-exaggerated virtual reality content generated using the second candidate movement-exaggeration factor. When motion sickness does not result, the design device may select the second candidate as the movement-exaggeration factor to be used to by the virtual reality ride system to generate subsequent movement-coordinated virtual reality content, for example, by storing it in the virtual reality ride system. On the other hand, the design device may continue progressing through one or more of the remaining candidate movement-exaggeration factors in a similar manner when the second candidate movement-exaggeration factor results in motion sickness.

In this manner, the techniques described in the present disclosure may facilitate reducing likelihood of a virtual reality ride system producing motion sickness, which, at least in some instances, may facilitate improving the ride experience provided by the virtual reality ride system. However, instead of merely coordinating virtual reality content with ride vehicle movement to reduce likelihood of producing motion sickness, the techniques described in the present disclosure may enable a virtual reality ride system to present virtual reality content that exaggerates physical (e.g., real and/or actual) ride vehicle movement. In other words, as will be described in more detail below, the techniques described in the present disclosure may enable a virtual reality ride system to present virtual reality content that is not limited to the magnitude of ride vehicle movement with reduced likelihood of producing motion sickness, which may facilitate providing a more exhilarating and, thus, improved ride experience.

To help illustrate, an example of a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, which includes a ride environment <NUM>, one or more ride vehicles <NUM>, and a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>, is shown in <FIG>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system <NUM> may be deployed at an amusement park, a theme park, a carnival, a fair, and/or the like. Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system <NUM> may be a roller coaster ride system, a lazy river ride system, a log flume ride system, a boat ride system, or the like.

However, it should be appreciated that the depicted example is merely intended to be illustrate and not limiting. For example, in other embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may be remote from the one or more ride vehicles <NUM> and/or the ride environment <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, in other embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may be fully included in one or more ride vehicles <NUM>. In any case, a ride vehicle <NUM> may generally be implemented and/or operated to carry (e.g., support) one or more riders (e.g., users) through the ride environment <NUM> of the virtual reality ride system <NUM>. Accordingly, physical (e.g., actual and/or real) movement (e.g., motion) of a rider in the ride environment <NUM> may generally be dependent on physical movement of a ride vehicle <NUM> carrying the rider.

To facilitate controlling movement of a ride vehicle <NUM>, the ride vehicle <NUM> may include one or more vehicle actuators <NUM>. For example, the vehicle actuators <NUM> may include a steering wheel and/or a rudder that enables controlling movement direction of the ride vehicle <NUM>. In some embodiments, a ride vehicle <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include one or more haptic vehicle actuators <NUM> implemented and/or operated to present virtual reality tactile content. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the vehicle actuators <NUM> may include an engine, a motor, and/or a brake that enables controlling movement speed of the ride vehicle <NUM>. In other embodiments, one or more vehicle actuators <NUM> may not be implemented in a ride vehicle <NUM>, for example, when movement of an inner tube ride vehicle <NUM> is instead controlled by propulsion produced by a rider and/or propulsion produced by the ride environment <NUM>.

To facilitate producing ride environment propulsion, as in the depicted example, one or more environment actuators <NUM> may be deployed in the ride environment <NUM>. For example, the environment actuators <NUM> may include an engine and/or a motor that is implemented and/or operated to push or pull a ride vehicle <NUM> through the ride environment <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, the environment actuators <NUM> may include a brake that is implemented and/or operated to slow or stop a ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM>. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the environment actuators <NUM> may include a pressurized air blower or an accordion mechanism that is implemented and/or operated to artificially produce waves in the ride environment <NUM>. In other embodiments, one or more environment actuators <NUM> may not be implemented in the ride environment <NUM>, for example, when movement of an inner tube ride vehicle <NUM> is instead controlled by propulsion produced by a rider, propulsion produced by one or more vehicle actuators <NUM>, and/or propulsion naturally occurring in the ride environment <NUM>.

As in the depicted example, the virtual reality ride system <NUM> may additionally include a ride control sub-system <NUM>, which is implemented and/or operated to generally control operation of one or more vehicle actuators <NUM> and/or one or more environment actuators <NUM>. To facilitate controlling operation, the ride control sub-system <NUM> may include one or more control processors <NUM> (e.g., control circuitry and/or processing circuitry) and control memory <NUM>. In some embodiments, a control processor <NUM> may execute instruction stored in the control memory <NUM> to perform operations, such as generating a control command that instructs a vehicle actuator <NUM> and/or an environment actuator <NUM> to perform a control action (e.g., actuate). Additionally or alternatively, a control processor <NUM> may operate based on circuit connections formed therein. As such, in some embodiments, the one or more control processors <NUM> may include one or more general purpose microprocessors, one or more application specific processors (ASICs), one or more field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

In addition to instructions, in some embodiments, the control memory <NUM> may store data, such as sensor data received from one or more sensors <NUM>. Thus, in some embodiments, the control memory <NUM> may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media that store instructions executable by processing circuitry, such as a control processor <NUM>, and/or data to be processed by the processing circuitry. For example, the control memory <NUM> may include one or more random access memory (RAM) devices, one or more read only memory (ROM) devices, one or more rewritable non-volatile memory devices, such as a flash memory drive, a hard disk drive, an optical disc drive, and/or the like. In other embodiments, a ride control sub-system <NUM> may be obviated and, thus, not included in a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, for example, when the virtual reality ride system <NUM> does not include vehicle actuators <NUM> and/or environment actuators <NUM>.

In any case, as in the depicted example, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more sensors <NUM>, one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces <NUM>, virtual reality (VR) processing circuitry <NUM>, virtual reality (VR) memory <NUM>, and one or more electronic displays <NUM>. In particular, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces <NUM>. In some embodiments, virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may execute instruction stored in the virtual reality memory <NUM> to perform operations, such as determining a predicted movement profile of a ride vehicle <NUM> and/or generating virtual reality content. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may operate based on circuit connections formed therein. As such, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may include one or more general purpose microprocessors, one or more application specific processors (ASICs), one or more field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

As in the depicted example, the one or more electronic displays <NUM> may also be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces <NUM>, for example, to enable the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> to supply image data corresponding with virtual reality image content to the one or more electronic displays <NUM>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more electronic displays <NUM> integrated with a ride vehicle <NUM> as a vehicle display 36A. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more electronic displays <NUM> implemented separately (e.g., independent and/or distinct) from the ride vehicles <NUM>, for example, as a headset display (e.g., head-mounted display (HMD)) 36B.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more audio speakers <NUM>. In particular, the one or more audio speakers <NUM> may also be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces <NUM>, for example, to enable the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> to supply audio data corresponding with virtual reality audio content to the one or more audio speakers <NUM>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more audio speakers <NUM> integrated with a ride vehicle <NUM> as a vehicle speaker 38A. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more audio speakers <NUM> implemented separately (e.g., independent and/or distinct) from the ride vehicles <NUM>, for example, as a headset (e.g., head-mounted) speaker 38B.

Similarly, in some embodiments, one or more haptic vehicle actuators <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces <NUM>, for example, to enable the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> to supply control commands (e.g., haptic data) corresponding with virtual reality tactile content to the one or more haptic vehicle actuators <NUM>. However, in other embodiments, vehicle actuators <NUM> may not be included in a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>, for example, when the vehicle actuators <NUM> are not haptic vehicle actuators <NUM> implemented and/or operated to present virtual reality tactile content. Additionally or alternatively, audio speakers <NUM> may not be included in a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>, for example, when the audio speakers <NUM> are not implemented and/or operated to present virtual reality audio content.

Moreover, the one or more sensors <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces <NUM>, for example, to enable the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> to receive sensor data from the one or more sensors <NUM>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more inertial motion sensors <NUM>, such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or a magnetometer. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more proximity sensors <NUM>, such as a sonar sensor <NUM>, a radio detection and ranging (RADAR) sensor <NUM>, and/or a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor <NUM>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include one or more location sensors <NUM>, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor (e.g., receiver) <NUM>.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, one or more vehicle sensors 28A may be deployed at a ride vehicle <NUM>, for example, to determine (e.g., sense and/or measure) sensor data indicative of pose of the ride vehicle <NUM>, location of the ride vehicle <NUM>, previous movement characteristics (e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle <NUM>, and/or current movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include one or more rider sensors 28B, for example, implemented and/or operated to determine sensor data indicative of rider pose. Moreover, in some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include one or more environment sensors deployed in the ride environment <NUM>, for example, to determine sensor data indicative of location of a ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM>, previous movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM>, current movement characteristics (e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM>, and/or characteristics of other movement in the ride environment <NUM>.

To help illustrate, an example of a portion of a virtual reality ride system 10A is shown in <FIG> and an example of a portion of another virtual reality ride system 10B is shown in <FIG>. In particular, the virtual reality ride system 10A of <FIG> may be a boat ride system <NUM> and the virtual reality ride system 10B of <FIG> may be a lazy river ride system <NUM>. However, it should be appreciated that the techniques described in the present disclosure may additionally or alternatively be used to implement and/or operate other types of virtual reality ride systems <NUM>, such as a roller coaster ride system, a log flume ride system, a drop tower ride system, a pendulum ride system, a swing ride system, a pirate ship ride system, a scrambler ride system, a robotic arm ride system, and/or the like.

As depicted, the virtual reality ride system 10A of <FIG> and the virtual reality ride system 10B of <FIG> each includes a ride vehicle <NUM> carrying a rider <NUM> in a ride environment <NUM>. In particular, the ride vehicle 14A of <FIG> may be a boat ride vehicle <NUM> and the ride environment 12A of <FIG> may include a water body 42A (e.g., a pool, a lake, a river, and/or the like) and multiple buoys <NUM> floating on the water body 42A. On the other hand, the ride vehicle 14B of <FIG> may be an inner tube ride vehicle <NUM> and the ride environment 12B of <FIG> may include a water body 42B (e.g., a pool, a lake, a river, and/or the like) and a wall <NUM> implemented along (e.g., enclosing) the water body 42B.

Additionally, as depicted, the ride vehicle 14A of <FIG> and the ride vehicle 14B of <FIG> each floats on a corresponding water body <NUM> and, thus, move with waves <NUM> therein. Furthermore, as depicted, the rider 40A in <FIG> and the rider 40B in <FIG> each has access to an electronic display <NUM>, for example, which is implemented and/or operated to display virtual reality image content. In particular, the rider 40A in <FIG> has access to a vehicle display 36A integrated with (e.g., coupled to) the ride vehicle 14A. On the other hand, the rider 40B in <FIG> has access to a headset display 36B, for example, implemented in a headset <NUM> along with one or more rider sensors 28B.

To facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, a virtual reality ride system <NUM> may coordinate presentation of virtual reality content, such as virtual reality image content displayed on an electronic display <NUM> carried by a ride vehicle <NUM>, with physical movement (e.g., motion) of the ride vehicle <NUM>. Additionally, as described above, the ride vehicle 14A of <FIG> and the ride vehicle 14B of <FIG> may each move with waves <NUM> in a corresponding water body <NUM>. In some embodiments, the virtual reality ride system <NUM> may controllably produce at least a portion of the waves <NUM>, for example, at least in part by controlling operation of an environment actuator <NUM> and/or a vehicle actuator <NUM>.

However, waves <NUM> in a water body <NUM> may additionally or alternatively be produced by factors outside the control of a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, such as a sudden gust of wind and/or a change in gravitational force exerted on the water body <NUM>. Moreover, the movement profile of the ride vehicle <NUM> resulting from interaction with a wave <NUM> may also vary with factors outside the control of a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, such as weight of a rider <NUM> carried by the ride vehicle <NUM>. Since such factors often vary over time, at least in some instances, the movement profile of a ride vehicle <NUM> may vary between different passes (e.g., cycles or rides) through a corresponding ride environment <NUM>. In other words, at least in some instances, the actual movement profile of a ride vehicle <NUM> during a pass through a corresponding ride environment <NUM> may differ from its planned (e.g., default) movement profile.

To facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness during a pass through a ride environment <NUM>, the virtual reality ride system <NUM> may adaptively predict the movement profile of the ride vehicle <NUM> based at least in part on sensor data determined by one or more of its sensors <NUM> during the pass and/or during one or more previous passes through the ride <NUM>. As depicted, the virtual reality ride systems <NUM> each include multiple environment sensors 28C deployed in its ride environment <NUM>. In particular, the environment sensors 28C of <FIG> are deployed on the buoys <NUM> in the ride environment 12A and the environment sensors 28C of <FIG> are deployed along the wall <NUM> in the ride environment 12B.

In some embodiments, the environment sensors 28C include one or more proximity sensors <NUM>, such as a RADAR sensor <NUM> or a LIDAR sensor <NUM>, and, thus, operate to determine (e.g., sense or measure) sensor data indicative of distance between the proximity environment sensor 28C and a physical object. For example, a proximity environment sensor 28C implemented on a buoy <NUM> in <FIG> may determine sensor data indicative of distance between the buoy <NUM> and the ride vehicle 14A. Additionally or alternatively, a proximity environment sensor 28C implemented at a point on the wall <NUM> in <FIG> may determine sensor data indicative of distance between the point on the wall <NUM> and the ride vehicle 14B. In fact, in some embodiments, a virtual reality ride system <NUM> may triangulate the distance of a ride vehicle <NUM> from multiple proximity environment sensors 28C to determine the location of the ride vehicle <NUM> in a corresponding ride environment <NUM>.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the environment sensors 28C additionally or alternatively include an inertial motion sensor <NUM>, such as an accelerometer and/or a gyroscope, and, thus, operate to determine sensor data indicative of movement of the inertial movement sensor <NUM>. For example, an inertial motion environment sensor 28C implemented on a buoy <NUM> in <FIG> may determine sensor data indicative of movement of the buoy <NUM>. In other words, since the buoy <NUM> floats on the water body 42A of <FIG>, sensor data determined by an inertial motion environment sensor 28C implemented thereon may be indicative of the movement characteristics of waves <NUM> in the water body 42A.

As depicted, the ride vehicle 14A of <FIG> and the ride vehicle 14B of <FIG> each includes a vehicle sensor 28A. In some embodiments, the vehicle sensor 28A may be an inertial motion sensor <NUM>, such as an accelerometer and/or a gyroscope, and, thus, operate to determine (e.g., sense or measure) sensor data indicative of movement of the corresponding ride vehicle <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle sensor 28A may be a proximity sensors <NUM>, such as a RADAR sensor <NUM> or a LIDAR sensor <NUM>, and, thus, operate to determine (e.g., sense or measure) sensor data indicative of distance between the corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> and a physical object. For example, a proximity vehicle sensor 28A deployed on the ride vehicle 14A of <FIG> may determine sensor data indicative of distance from a buoy <NUM> floating on the water body 42A, distance from another ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment 12A, and/or distance from a wave <NUM> in the water body 42A. Similarly, a proximity vehicle sensor 28A deployed on the ride vehicle 14B of <FIG> may determine sensor data indicative of distance from the wall <NUM> running along the water body 42B, distance from another ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment 12B, and/or distance from a wave <NUM> in the water body 42B.

Returning to the virtual reality ride system <NUM> of <FIG>, as described above, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may receive sensor data from one or more sensors <NUM> via one or more I/O interfaces <NUM> in the virtual reality sub-system <NUM>. Additionally, as in the depicted example, a remote data source <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the one or more I/O interfaces <NUM> and, thus, virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> in the virtual reality sub-system <NUM>. For example, the remote data source <NUM> may be a weather forecast server (e.g., database) that stores sensor data indicative of current weather conditions and/or predicted sensor data indicative of forecast (e.g., future) weather conditions.

However, it should again be appreciated that the depicted example is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. In particular, in other embodiments, data received from a remote data source <NUM> may be obviated, for example, by sensor data received from one or more sensors <NUM> in a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>. Thus, in such embodiments, the remote data source <NUM> may not be included in and/or communicatively coupled to a corresponding virtual reality ride system <NUM>.

In any case, as described above, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may operate to determine a predicted movement profile (e.g., trajectory) of a ride vehicle <NUM> based at least in part on received sensor data. Additionally, as described above, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may operate to generate movement-coordinated virtual reality content based at least in part on the predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle <NUM>. Furthermore, as described above, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may operate at least in part by executing instructions stored in the virtual reality memory <NUM>, for example, to process data stored in the virtual reality memory <NUM>.

As such, in some embodiments, the virtual reality memory <NUM> may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media that store instructions executable by processing circuitry, such as virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM>, and/or data to be processed by the processing circuitry. For example, the virtual reality memory <NUM> may include one or more random access memory (RAM) devices, one or more read only memory (ROM) devices, one or more rewritable non-volatile memory devices, such as a flash memory drive, a hard disk drive, an optical disc drive, and/or the like. As in the depicted example, the data and/or instructions stored in the virtual reality memory <NUM> may include default virtual reality (VR) content <NUM> and a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the default virtual reality content <NUM> may correspond with virtual reality content, such as virtual reality image content and/or virtual reality audio content, that is to be presented to a rider <NUM> when a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> follows a default (e.g., planned or stationary) movement profile. Thus, as will be described in more detail below, in some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality content, such as movement-coordinated virtual reality image content and/or movement-coordinated virtual reality audio content, at least in part by adjusting the default virtual reality content <NUM> based at least in part on deviation of a predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle <NUM> from its default movement profile. Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may determine the predicted movement profile of the ride vehicle <NUM> by executing the ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM> based at least in part on received sensor data.

An example of a ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A, which may be deployed in and/or utilized by a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, is shown in <FIG>. The ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A may receive one or more input parameters <NUM> including sensor data <NUM> and determine one or more output parameters <NUM> indicative of a predicted ride vehicle movement profile (e.g., trajectory) <NUM> over a prediction horizon. However, it should be appreciated that the depicted example is merely intended to be illustrative and no limiting. In particular, in other embodiments, a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM> may receive other types of input parameters <NUM> and/or determine other types of output parameters <NUM>.

In fact, as in the depicted example, the input parameters <NUM> may additionally include one or more actuator control commands <NUM>. As described above, in some embodiments, a ride control sub-system <NUM> may communicate a control command to an actuator, such as a vehicle actuator <NUM> or an environment actuator <NUM>, that instructs the actuator to perform a control action, for example, which facilitates controlling movement of a ride vehicle <NUM> in a ride environment <NUM>. As such, to facilitate determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM>, in some embodiments, one or more actuator control commands <NUM> corresponding with control actions that potentially affect movement of a ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM> may be included in the input parameters <NUM> supplied to the ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A.

Additionally or alternatively, the input parameters <NUM> may include a default movement profile <NUM> of a ride vehicle <NUM> in a corresponding ride environment <NUM>. In other embodiments, actuator control commands <NUM> and/or a default movement profile <NUM> may not be included in input parameters <NUM> supplied to a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM>, for example, when information indicated by the actuator control commands <NUM> and/or the default movement profile <NUM> is obviated by the sensor data <NUM>.

As in the depicted example, the sensor data <NUM> included in the input parameters <NUM> may include vehicle sensor data 60A received from one or more vehicle sensors 28A. As described above, when the vehicle sensor 28A includes a proximity sensor 28A deployed on a ride vehicle <NUM>, the vehicle sensor data 60A may be indicative of distance between the ride vehicle <NUM> and a physical object in a corresponding ride environment <NUM>, such as another ride vehicle <NUM>, a buoy <NUM>, a wall <NUM>, a wave <NUM>, and/or the like. When the vehicle sensor 28A includes an inertial motion vehicle sensor 28A, the vehicle sensor data 60A may be indicative of current and/or previous movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM>.

Additionally, as in the depicted example, the sensor data <NUM> included in the input parameters <NUM> may include rider sensor data 60B received from one or more rider sensors 28B. In some embodiments, a rider sensor 28B may be a proximity sensor 28B and, thus, the rider sensor data 60B may be indicative of distance between a corresponding rider <NUM> and a physical object in a corresponding ride environment <NUM>, such as a specific point on a ride vehicle <NUM> carrying the rider <NUM>, another ride vehicle <NUM>, a buoy <NUM>, a wall <NUM>, a wave <NUM>, and/or the like. Additionally or alternatively, a rider sensor 28B may be an inertial motion sensor 28B and, thus, the rider sensor data 60B may be indicative of current and/or previous movement characteristics of a rider <NUM> and, thus, a ride vehicle <NUM> carrying the rider <NUM>.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, the sensor data <NUM> included in the input parameters <NUM> may include environment sensor data 60C received from one or more environment sensors 28C. As described above, when the environment sensor 28C includes a proximity sensor 28C, the environment sensor data 60C may be indicative of distance between the proximity environment sensor 28C and a physical object in the ride environment <NUM>, such as a ride vehicle <NUM>, a buoy <NUM>, a wall <NUM>, a wave <NUM>, and/or the like. Additionally or alternatively, when the environment sensor 28C includes an inertial motion sensor 28C, the environment sensor data 60C may be indicative of current and/or previous movement characteristics of a physical object in the ride environment <NUM>, such as a buoy <NUM>, a wave <NUM>, a ride vehicle <NUM>, and/or the like.

In other embodiments, environment sensor data 60C may not be included in input parameters <NUM>, for example, when a virtual reality ride system <NUM> does not include environment sensors 28C. Additionally, in other embodiments, rider sensor data 60B may not be included in input parameters <NUM>, for example, when a virtual reality ride system <NUM> does not include rider sensors 28B. Furthermore, in other embodiments, vehicle sensor data 60A may not be included in input parameters <NUM>, for example, when a virtual reality ride system <NUM> does not include vehicle sensors 28A.

As described above, the input parameters <NUM> supplied to the ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A may be indicative of current and/or previous movement characteristics of a physical object, such as a ride vehicle <NUM>, in the ride environment <NUM>. In other words, the input parameters <NUM> supplied to the ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A may be indicative of a current movement profile and/or a previous movement profile of the physical object in the ride environment. As such, based at least in part on the input parameters <NUM>, the ride vehicle movement prediction model 56A may determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> that is expected to occur during a prediction horizon (e.g., subsequent time period). As used herein, a "predicted ride vehicle movement profile" of a ride vehicle <NUM> describes movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM> that are predicted (e.g., expected) to occur during a time period - namely a prediction horizon.

Thus, as in the depicted example, the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may include one or more predicted ride vehicle movement times <NUM>. As used herein, a "predicted ride vehicle movement time" describes a predicted start time or a predicted stop time of a specific movement of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> during the prediction horizon, for example, indicated as an absolute time and/or a relative ride time. In other words, in some embodiments, the predicted ride vehicle movement times <NUM> may include a start predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> that indicates a time at which a specific movement of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> starts (e.g., begins). Additionally, in some embodiments, the predicted ride vehicle movement times <NUM> may include a stop predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> that indicates a time at which a specific movement of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> stops (e.g., ends).

A predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include one or more predicted ride vehicle movement durations <NUM>. As used herein, a "predicted ride vehicle movement duration" describes a duration over which a specific movement of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> is predicted to occur during the prediction horizon, for example, indicated in seconds and/or in minutes. Thus, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM> may be determined based at least in part on a time difference between a start predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> and a corresponding stop predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM>. In fact, in some embodiments, indication of predicted ride vehicle movement times <NUM> may be obviated by indication of one or more predicted ride vehicle movement durations <NUM> and, thus, not included in a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> output from a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM>. In other embodiments, indication of a predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM> may be obviated by indication of predicted ride vehicle movement times <NUM> and, thus, not included in a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> output from a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM>.

Furthermore, a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may also include one or more predicted ride vehicle movement directions <NUM>. As used herein, a "predicted ride vehicle movement direction" describes a movement direction (e.g., orientation) of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> that is predicted to occur at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM> in the prediction horizon, for example, indicated in degrees and/or radians. In some embodiments, a predicted vehicle movement direction <NUM> may be determined as an orientation (e.g., offset direction) in a three dimensional (3D) space. Additionally or alternatively, a predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM> may be determined as an orientation in a horizontal plane and an orientation in a vertical plane. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM> may be determined relative to a corresponding ride environment <NUM>. Since portions of a ride environment <NUM>, such as a water body <NUM> and/or a wave <NUM>, may be in motion, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM> may be additionally or alternatively determined relative to a fixed reference point, such as the Earth.

Moreover, a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may include one or more predicted ride vehicle movement magnitudes <NUM>. As used herein, a "predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude" describes a movement magnitude (e.g., distance) of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> that is predicted to occur at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM> in the prediction horizon, for example, indicated in meters. In some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> may be determined as a distance (e.g., offset magnitude) in a three dimensional (3D) space. Additionally or alternatively, a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> may be determined as a distance in a horizontal plane and a distance in a vertical plane.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> may be determined relative to a corresponding ride environment <NUM>. Since portions of a ride environment <NUM>, such as a water body <NUM> and/or a wave <NUM>, may be in motion, in some embodiments, a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> may be additionally or alternatively determined relative to a fixed reference point, such as a corresponding virtual reality ride system <NUM> as a whole and/or the center of the Earth. For example, the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> may indicate that a corresponding ride vehicle is predicted to move a specific distance relative to the center of the Earth. In this manner, a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM> may be implemented and/or operated to determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> that indicates movement characteristics of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM> expected to occur during a subsequent period of time (e.g., prediction horizon).

Returning to the virtual reality ride system <NUM> of <FIG>, to facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may generate and present virtual reality content to a rider <NUM> of a ride vehicle <NUM> based at least in part on a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM>. In particular, in some embodiments, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may adapt default virtual reality content <NUM> to facilitate compensating for movement characteristics indicated in the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM>. For example, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may adapt default virtual reality image content <NUM> at least in part by translating (e.g., offsetting) the default virtual reality image content <NUM> in a predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM> to generate adapted (e.g., movement-coordinated) virtual reality image content and display (e.g., present) the adapted virtual reality image content at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM>.

To help further illustrate, an example of a process <NUM> for operating a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>, which may be deployed in and/or utilized by a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, is shown in <FIG>. Generally, the process <NUM> includes determining sensor data (process block <NUM>) and determining a predicted ride vehicle movement profile based on the sensor data (process block <NUM>). Additionally, the process <NUM> includes adapting default virtual reality content to coordinate with the predicted ride vehicle movement profile (process block <NUM>).

Although described in a particular order, which represents a particular embodiment, it should be noted that the process <NUM> may be performed in any suitable order. Additionally, embodiments of the process <NUM> may omit process blocks and/or include additional process blocks. Moreover, the process <NUM> may be implemented at least in part by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as virtual reality memory <NUM>, using processing circuitry, such as virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM>.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may receive sensor data determined (e.g., measured and/or sensed) by one or more sensors <NUM>. As described above, a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more vehicle sensors 28A. Thus, in some such embodiments, determining the sensor data may include receiving vehicle sensor data 60A output from one or more vehicle sensors 28A (process block <NUM>). As described above, in some embodiments, the vehicle sensor data may be indicative of pose (e.g., orientation and/or location) of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM>, previous movement characteristics (e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle <NUM>, and/or current movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM>.

Furthermore, as described above, a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include one or more vehicle sensors 28A. Thus, in some such embodiments, determining the sensor data may include receiving rider sensor data 60B output from one or more rider sensors 28B (process block <NUM>). As described above, in some embodiments, the rider sensor data may be indicative of pose of a corresponding rider <NUM> being carried by a ride vehicle <NUM>.

Moreover, as described above, a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include one or more environment sensors 28C. Thus, in some such embodiments, determining the sensor data may include receiving environment sensor data 60C output from one or more environment sensors 28C (process block <NUM>). As described above, in some embodiments, environment sensor data 60C may be indicative of location of a ride vehicle <NUM> in a corresponding ride environment <NUM>, previous movement characteristics (e.g., profile) of the ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM>, current movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM> in the ride environment <NUM>, and/or characteristics of other movement, such as movement of a water body <NUM> and/or movement of a wave <NUM>, in the ride environment <NUM>.

As described above, a sensor <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to an I/O interface <NUM> of a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> and virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the I/O interface <NUM>. Thus, in such embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may receive sensor data <NUM> output from one or more sensors <NUM> via one or more I/O interfaces <NUM> implemented in the virtual reality sub-system <NUM>. Additionally, as described above, virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to virtual reality memory <NUM> storing a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM>, for example, which describes expected relationships between sensor data <NUM> and a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> that is expected to occur during a prediction horizon.

Thus, based at least in part on the sensor data, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may determine a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> (process block <NUM>). In particular, to facilitate determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM>, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may execute a ride vehicle movement prediction model <NUM> based at least in part on a set of input parameters <NUM> including the sensor data <NUM>, for example, in addition to one or more actuator control commands <NUM> and/or a default movement profile of a corresponding ride vehicle <NUM>. As described above, a predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> of a ride vehicle <NUM> may indicate predicted movement characteristics, such as movement time, movement duration, movement direction, and/or movement magnitude, of the ride vehicle <NUM>
that are expected to occur during a prediction horizon.

As such, in some embodiments, determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may include determining one or more predicted ride vehicle movement times <NUM> (process block <NUM>). Additionally or alternatively, determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may include determining one or more predicted ride vehicle movement durations <NUM> (process block <NUM>). Furthermore, in some embodiments, determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may include determining one or more predicted ride vehicle movement directions <NUM> (process block <NUM>). Moreover, in some embodiments, determining the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> may include determining one or more predicted ride vehicle movement magnitudes <NUM> (process block <NUM>).

To facilitate reducing likelihood of virtual reality content presentation resulting in motion sickness, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality content at least in part by adapting default virtual reality content <NUM> based on the predicted ride vehicle movement profile <NUM> (process block <NUM>). In particular, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality image content at least in part by translating (e.g., offsetting and/or shifting) default virtual reality image content <NUM> in a predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM>. In this manner, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality image content, which when displayed (e.g., presented), results in a perceived movement direction that matches the predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM>.

Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content at least in part by adding virtual content to the default virtual reality image content <NUM>, for example, such that the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content visually depicts a cause and/or a result of a physical ride vehicle movement. In some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may additionally set a target presentation (e.g., display) time of the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content to match a predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM>. In other words, in this manner, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content for display at a presentation time that matches the predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may set a target presentation (e.g., display) duration of the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content to match a predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM>. In this manner, the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content for display during a presentation duration that matches the predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM>.

Moreover, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content at least in part by translating the default virtual reality image content <NUM> a distance determined based at least in part a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>, for example, in a direction indicated by a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement direction <NUM>. In fact, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may generate the movement-coordinated virtual reality image content such that presentation results in a perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude that differs from a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>. For example, to facilitate providing a more exhilarating (e.g., improved) ride experience, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may generate movement-coordinated virtual reality content at least in part by adapting the default virtual reality content <NUM> to produce a perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude greater than a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> (process block <NUM>). In other words, the movement-coordinated virtual reality content may include movement-exaggerated virtual reality content, which when presented to a rider <NUM> of a ride vehicle <NUM>, exaggerates magnitude of a physical movement of the ride vehicle <NUM>.

To help illustrate, an example of a process <NUM> for generating movement-exaggerated virtual reality content is described in <FIG>. Generally, the process <NUM> includes determining a movement-exaggeration factor (process block <NUM>) and determining a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude by applying the movement-exaggeration factor to a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>). Additionally, the process <NUM> includes determining movement-exaggerated virtual reality content by adapting default virtual reality content based on the targeted perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>).

Accordingly, in some embodiments, virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> in a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may determine one or more movement-exaggeration factors (process block <NUM>). As will be described in more detail below, in some embodiments, a movement-exaggeration factor may be pre-determined by a design system via a calibration process and stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as virtual reality memory <NUM>. Thus, in such embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may retrieve the movement-exaggeration factor from the tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium.

In some embodiments, the movement-exaggeration factors may include one or more offset (e.g., bias) values. Additionally or alternatively, the movement-exaggeration factors may include one or more gain (e.g., scale) values. In fact, in some embodiments, virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may adaptively (e.g., dynamically) determine the value of one or more movement-exaggeration factors to be applied based on potentially varying operating factors, such as content of virtual reality content and/or predicted ride vehicle movement characteristics. In other words, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may select different movement-exaggeration factors under differing operating factors.

For example, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may apply a larger movement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with a ride climax, such as a fight scene. As another example, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may apply a larger movement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with a longer predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM> and a smaller movement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with a shorter predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM> or vice versa. As a further example, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may apply a larger movement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with a larger predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> and a smaller movement-exaggeration factor to generate motion exaggerated virtual reality content corresponding with smaller predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> or vice versa.

The virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may then apply the one or more movement-exaggeration factors to a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> to determine a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>). For example, when a movement-exaggeration factor is an offset value, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may apply the movement-exaggeration factor to determine a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude biased relative to the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, when a movement-exaggeration factor is a gain value, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may apply the movement-exaggeration factor to determine a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude scaled relative to the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>.

To determine movement-exaggerated virtual reality content, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may adapt the default virtual reality content <NUM> based at least in part on the target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>). For example, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may generate movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content at least in part by adapting (e.g., translating and/or shifting) default virtual reality image content <NUM> such that, when displayed, the movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content results in the target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude. In other words, in such embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may determine movement-exaggerated virtual reality content included in movement coordinate virtual reality content based at least in part on a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude that differs from a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>.

To facilitate reducing likelihood of producing motion sickness, as described above, a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may present the movement-coordinated virtual reality content to a rider <NUM> of a ride vehicle <NUM> in coordination with predicted movement characteristics of the ride vehicle <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may instruct one or more (e.g., haptic) vehicle actuators <NUM> to present movement-coordinated virtual reality tactile content at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM>. Additionally, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may instruct one or more audio speakers <NUM> to present movement-coordinated virtual reality audio content at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM>. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the virtual reality processing circuitry <NUM> may additionally or alternatively instruct one or more electronic displays <NUM> to present (e.g., display) movement-coordinated virtual reality image content at a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement time <NUM> and/or during a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement duration <NUM>.

However, as described above, at least in some instances, a rider <NUM> on a ride vehicle <NUM> of a virtual reality ride system <NUM> may experience motion sickness when sensory (e.g., visual and vestibular) systems of the rider <NUM> detect differing movement characteristics. Additionally, as described above, motion exaggerated virtual reality content included in motion coordinated virtual reality content may be generated based on a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude that differs from (e.g., greater than) a corresponding predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>. In other words, the perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude resulting from presentation of motion exaggerated virtual reality content may differ from the predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> and, thus, potentially differ from a corresponding actual movement magnitude of the ride vehicle <NUM>.

As such, to facilitate providing a more exhilarating ride experience with reduced likelihood of producing motion sickness, in some embodiments, determination of motion exaggerated virtual reality content may be calibrated (e.g., tuned) via a calibration (e.g., tuning) process. In particular, in such embodiments, the calibration process may be performed to determine the value of one or more movement-exaggeration factors to be applied to a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM>. Additionally, in some embodiments, the calibration process may be performed by a design system, for example, offline, before deployment of a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> in a virtual reality ride system <NUM>, and/or before an operation cycle of the virtual reality sub-system <NUM>.

To help illustrate, an example of a design (e.g., calibration and/or tuning) system <NUM> is shown in <FIG>. As in the depicted example, the design system <NUM> includes a design device <NUM> communicatively coupled to a virtual reality sub-system 16A. In other embodiments, a design system <NUM> may include multiple (e.g., more than one) design devices <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, in other embodiments, a design device <NUM> may only be communicatively coupled to a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> after completion of the calibration process.

As described above, a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> may include an electronic display <NUM> and virtual reality (VR) memory <NUM>. Additionally, as described above, virtual reality memory <NUM> may store instructions and/or data to be used by a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>. In particular, as in the depicted example, the data stored in the virtual reality memory 34A may include candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content <NUM> and a movement-exaggeration factor <NUM>, for example, determined via a calibration process performed by the design device <NUM>.

To facilitate performing a calibration process, as in the depicted example, the design device <NUM> may include one or more design processors <NUM> (e.g., control circuitry and/or processing circuitry) and design memory <NUM>. In some embodiments, the design memory <NUM> may store data to be used by the one or more design processors <NUM>. In particular, as in the depicted example, the data stored in the design memory <NUM> may include one or more candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM>. Thus, in some embodiments, the design memory <NUM> may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media. For example, the design memory <NUM> may include one or more random access memory (RAM) devices, one or more read only memory (ROM) devices, one or more rewritable non-volatile memory devices, such as a flash memory drive, a hard disk drive, an optical disc drive, and/or the like.

In addition to data, in some embodiments, the design memory <NUM> may store instructions to be executed by processing circuitry, such as a design processor <NUM>. For example, the one or more design processors <NUM> may execute instructions stored in the design memory <NUM> to generate candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content <NUM> corresponding with the one or more candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, a design processor <NUM> may operate based on circuit connections formed therein. As such, in some embodiments, the one or more design processors <NUM> may include one or more general purpose, one or more application specific processors (ASICs), one or more field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

Furthermore, as in the depicted example, the design device <NUM> may include one or more input devices <NUM>. In other embodiments, one or more input devices <NUM> may additionally or alternatively be included in a virtual reality sub-system <NUM>. In any case, an input device <NUM> may generally be implemented and/or operated to receive a user (e.g., operator) input. As such, in some embodiments, the input devices <NUM> may include one or more buttons, one or more keyboards, one or more mice, one or more trackpads, and/or the like. For example, to facilitate selecting a movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> from multiple candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM> during a calibration process, an input device <NUM> may receive a user input that indicates whether presentation of corresponding candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content results in motion sickness.

To help further illustrate, an example of a calibration process <NUM>, which may be performed by a design system <NUM> and/or a design device <NUM>, is described in <FIG>. Generally, the calibration process <NUM> includes determining a candidate movement-exaggeration factor (process block <NUM>), determining a candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude by applying the candidate movement-exaggeration factor to a calibration ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>), and generating candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content based on the candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>). Additionally, the calibration process <NUM> includes concurrently producing the calibration ride vehicle movement magnitude and presenting the candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content (process block <NUM>), determining whether motion sickness results (decision block <NUM>), determining a next largest candidate movement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness results (process block <NUM>), and selecting the candidate as a movement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness does not result (process block <NUM>).

Although described in a particular order, which represents a particular embodiment, it should be noted that the calibration process <NUM> may be performed in any suitable order. Additionally, embodiments of the calibration process <NUM> may omit process blocks and/or include additional process blocks. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the calibration process <NUM> may be performed at least in part by a manufacturer that produces a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> and/or a system integrator that produces a virtual reality ride system <NUM>. Moreover, in some embodiments, the calibration process <NUM> may be implemented at least in part by executing instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as design memory <NUM>, using processing circuitry, such as one or more design processors <NUM>.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a design device <NUM> may determine one or more candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM> (process block <NUM>). In particular, in some embodiments, the design device <NUM> may determine multiple candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM> each with a different value. Additionally, to facilitate providing a more exhilarating ride experience, in some embodiments, the design device <NUM> may evaluate the candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM> in descending value order. In other words, in such embodiments, the design device <NUM> may evaluate a candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> with the largest value before other candidate movement-exaggeration factors <NUM>.

By applying a candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> to a calibration ride vehicle magnitude, the design device <NUM> may determine a candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude corresponding with the candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> (process block <NUM>). In particular, the calibration ride vehicle magnitude may be the movement magnitude of a ride vehicle <NUM> in a ride environment <NUM>. In other words, the candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude may match a target perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude resulting from application of the candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> to a predicted ride vehicle movement magnitude <NUM> that matches the calibration ride vehicle magnitude.

Based at least in part on the candidate ride vehicle movement magnitude, the design device <NUM> may generate candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content <NUM> (process block <NUM>). In some embodiments, the design device <NUM> may generate candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content <NUM> at least in part by adapting default virtual reality content <NUM> based at least in part on the candidate ride vehicle movement magnitude. For example, to generate candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content <NUM>, the design device <NUM> may shift (e.g., translate) default virtual reality image content <NUM> by the candidate ride vehicle movement magnitude.

The design device <NUM> may then instruct a virtual reality sub-system <NUM> to concurrently produce the calibration ride movement magnitude and present the candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content (process block <NUM>). For example, the design device <NUM> may instruct the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> to present (e.g., display) candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality image content <NUM> to a rider <NUM> of a ride vehicle <NUM>. As described above, in some embodiments, movement of a ride vehicle <NUM> in a ride environment <NUM> of a virtual reality ride system <NUM> may be controlled at least in part by controlling operation of one or more actuators, such as a vehicle actuator <NUM> and/or an environment actuator <NUM>. Thus, in such embodiments, the design device <NUM> may instruct the virtual reality ride system <NUM> to produce the calibration ride movement magnitude at least in part by controlling the one or more actuators. Additionally or alternatively, the design device <NUM> may instruct the virtual reality sub-system <NUM> to artificially produce the calibration ride movement magnitude, for example, via one or more calibration (e.g., temporary) actuators coupled to a ride vehicle <NUM> during the calibration process <NUM>.

The design device <NUM> may then determine whether motion sickness results from presenting the candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content concurrently with occurrence of the calibration ride vehicle movement magnitude (decision block <NUM>). In some embodiments, the design device <NUM> may determine whether motion sickness results based at least in part on a user (e.g., rider) input received from the rider <NUM> of the ride vehicle <NUM> via one or more input devices <NUM>. For example, the design device <NUM> may determine that motion sickness results when the user input selects a first input device <NUM> (e.g., YES button) and that motion sickness does not result when the user input selects a second (e.g., different) input device <NUM> (e.g., NO button).

When motion sickness does not result, the design device <NUM> may select the candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> as a movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> to be applied during subsequent operation of the virtual reality sub-system <NUM>, for example, after deployment in a virtual reality ride system <NUM> (process block <NUM>). As described above, in some embodiments, the selected movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> may be stored in a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium in the virtual reality sub-system <NUM>, such as virtual reality memory 34A. When motion sickness results, the design device <NUM> may determine a next largest candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> (process block <NUM>).

The design device <NUM> may then evaluate the next largest candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> in a similar manner. In other words, the design device <NUM> may determine another candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude by applying the next largest candidate movement-exaggeration factor <NUM> to the calibration ride vehicle magnitude (process block <NUM>), generate other candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content based on the other candidate perceived ride vehicle movement magnitude (process block <NUM>), concurrently producing the calibration ride vehicle movement magnitude and presenting the other candidate movement-exaggerated virtual reality content (process block <NUM>), determining whether motion sickness results (decision block <NUM>), selecting the next largest candidate as the movement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness does not result (process block <NUM>), determining another next largest candidate movement-exaggeration factor when motion sickness results (process block <NUM>). In this manner, the techniques described in the present disclosure may facilitate reducing the likelihood of producing motion sickness while providing a more exhilarating and, thus, improved virtual reality ride experience.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example. It should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and/or alternative forms. It should be further understood that the present invention covers all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims.

Claim 1:
A virtual reality (VR) ride system comprising:
a ride vehicle configured to support a rider and traverse a variable ride environment;
an electronic display configured to present virtual reality, VR, image content to the rider carried through the variable ride environment by the ride vehicle; and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the electronic display and one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to record sensor data indicative of a movement profile of the ride vehicle in the variable ride environment, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
receive the sensor data from the one or more sensors;
determine a predicted ride vehicle trajectory of the ride vehicle within the variable ride environment based on the sensor data indicative of the movement profile of the ride vehicle and a ride vehicle movement prediction model, wherein the predicted ride vehicle trajectory corresponds to a predicted movement magnitude of the ride vehicle during a predicted movement duration;
determine a target perceived movement magnitude that is greater than the predicted movement magnitude; and
determine movement-exaggerated VR image content to be presented on the electronic display during the predicted movement duration by adjusting default image content to incorporate the target perceived movement magnitude.