Patent Description:
Amusement parks or theme parks may include various attractions to provide entertainment to guests (e.g., families and/or people of all ages). For example, the attractions may include a ride, such as a roller coaster, a stationary ride with a motion platform, a dark ride, and so forth. In addition, there may be themed environments along the rides. Such themed environments may be traditionally established using equipment, furniture, building layouts, props, decorations, and so forth. Depending on the complexity of the themed environment, it could prove to be very difficult and time-consuming to setup and replace the themed environment. It may also be very difficult to setup a themed environment that is entertaining for all passengers on the ride. For example, the same themed environment may be appealing to some passengers, but not others.

In addition, as entertainment technology continues to improve in a variety of settings, such as through developments in the video gaming and movie industries, guests may begin to expect more immersive experiences reflective of state of the art technologies. Depending on the complexity and the level of usage of certain amusement attractions, someof which serve thousands of guests every day, it may be very difficult to modify, upgrade, replace, or maintain functionalities of such attractions.

<CIT> B <NUM> 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 described 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. The game machine further comprises a speaker and a display used to output the selected auditory and visual information, respectively.

<CIT> describes a ride system which includes eyewear configured to be worn by a user. The eyewear includes a display having a stereoscopic feature configured to permit viewing of externally projected stereoscopically displayed images. The ride system includes a computer graphics generation system communicatively coupled to the eyewear, and configured to generate streaming media of a real world environment based on image data captured via the camera of the eyewear, generate one or more virtual augmentations superimposed on the streaming media of the real world environment, and to transmit the streaming media of the real world environment along with the one or more superimposed virtual augmentations to be displayed on the display of the eyewear, and project stereoscopic images into the real world environment.

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the present disclosure are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of present embodiments. Indeed, present embodiments may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

The invention provides a ride vehicle for an amusement park system according to claim <NUM>.

It is now recognized that it is desirable to include attractions where it may be possible to change attraction themes in a flexible and efficient manner relative to traditional techniques. It is also now recognized that it may be desirable to provide attraction features that readily allow upgrades, maintenance, or replacement of key components in a manner that does not create significant attraction downtime. Indeed, as one example, theme park attractions using ride vehicles have historically had long lead times associated with technical refresh upgrades. Thus, cutting edge technology (e.g., augmented or virtual reality) within these attractions can easily be outpaced by what is available in home consumer products.

It is presently recognized that a need exists for, among other things, amusement attractions (e.g., ride vehicle systems) to be designed in a way that allows ready integration of technical refreshes, particularly those that follow initial integration of cutting edge technologies. For instance, it is now recognized that a need exists for amusement ride designs that allow updates to be performed agnostically and rapidly for both software and hardware, with minimal impacts to ride aesthetics and operations. To address these and other concerns, the present disclosure provides an architecture that encompasses hardware and software to ensure either can be updated with minimal negative impact to the system.

As one example embodiment of the present disclosure, an amusement park attraction may include a modular attraction system. The modular attraction system may incorporate an on-board system (e.g., on a ride vehicle) that drives an on-board experience (e.g., an experience local to a user and/or the ride vehicle). For example, the on-board system may provide gaming effects resulting in an augmented reality and/or virtual reality (AR/VR) experience, which may include a visual experience presented by way of one or more display features (e.g., head mounted displays (HMDs)). The modular attraction system may also include an off-board system (e.g., off the ride vehicle) that coordinates certain aspects of various components of the on-board system, and provides other entertainment experiences using light systems, animatronics, media systems (e.g., projection display systems and sound systems), or a combination thereof, associated with the particular amusement park attraction. The on-board and off-board systems may operate collaboratively to enhance the ride experiences of the passengers. In addition, the on-board and off-board systems and their various components are designed in such a way that they may be individually or separately replaced, maintained, modified, upgraded and so forth, with minimal downtime of the amusement park attraction.

The terms "on-board system" and "off-board system" are used herein to denote two systems that work together to create an overall experience in the amusement park attraction, and it should be appreciated that components of these systems are not necessarily intended to be limited to any particular placement relative to the ride vehicle. For example, in one implementation discussed in detail herein, all of the components of the on-board system may be located on the ride vehicle (e.g., move with the ride vehicle), while all of the components of the off-board system may be located off the ride vehicle (e.g., do not move with the ride vehicle). However, the on-board system may additionally or alternatively include components that are co-located with the ride vehicle (e.g., components that are not located on the ride vehicle, but are in proximity of the ride vehicle during at least a portion of the ride). For example, at least some components of the on- board system may be positioned at a location along a path traversed by the ride vehicle, and these components of the on-board system may communicate (e.g., via a wireless network) with other components of the on-board system that are located on the ride vehicle when the ride vehicle is at or near the location along the path to drive the on-board experience. As another example, the ride vehicle may not physically travel along a path (e.g., may be stationary; move in place, such as rock or rotate without traveling along a path). In some such cases, at least some components of the on-board system may be positioned at a location proximate to the ride vehicle, and these components of the on- board system may communicate (e.g., via a wireless network) with other components of the on-board system that are located on the ride vehicle to drive the on-board experience.

In yet another example, the attraction may not include a ride vehicle, but instead the user may walk or otherwise travel through the attraction wearing or carrying one or more interactive components, such as the one or more display features (e.g., the HMD), speakers, and/or haptics. In some such cases, all of the components of the on-board system may be worn or carried by the user (e.g., move with the user), while all of the components of the off-board system may be located off of the user (e.g., do not move with the user). However, the on-board system may additionally or alternatively include components that are co-located with the user (e.g., components that are not worn or carried by the user, but are in proximity of the user during at least a portion of the amusement park attraction). In some such cases, at least some components of the on-board system may be positioned at a location along a path traversed by the user or otherwise proximate to the user, and these components of the on-board system may communicate (e.g., via a wireless network) with other components of the on-board system that are worn or carried by the user when the user is at or near the location along the path to drive the on-board experience.

Additionally or alternatively, the on-board system may include components that are located remotely from the ride vehicle and the user (e.g., at any location, including outside of physical boundaries of the amusement park attraction), but may communicate (e.g., via a wireless network) with other components of the on-board system that are physically located on the ride vehicle or worn or carried by the user to create the on-board experience, for example. Furthermore, the off-board system may include components (e.g., distinct from the components of the on-board system) that work together with the components of the on-board system to create the overall experience. For example, the off-board system may include components that drive off-board experiences, such as fog, smoke, wind, and/or lights, in an environment surrounding the ride vehicle and/or the user within the amusement park attraction.

While certain embodiments discussed in detail herein include a visual experience presented via HMDs to facilitate discussion, it should be appreciated that the AR/VR experience may additionally or alternatively include a visual experience presented via any other suitable technology, such as via any other suitable visual experience generator (e.g., a hand-held display, a vehicle-mounted display, a virtual retina display or retinal projector that projects onto a retina of the user) that is capable of generating a visual representation that can be visualized by the user. For example, the HMDs disclosed herein may be replaced with or used in conjunction with any other suitable visual experience generator. Additionally, the AR/VR experience may include the visual experience, an auditory experience presented by way of one or more speaker features, and/or a tactile experience presented by way of one or more haptic features. In some embodiments, the AR/VR experience may include only an auditory experience or only a tactile experience.

With the foregoing in mind, <FIG> illustrates an embodiment of an amusement park <NUM>, which may include one or more attractions <NUM>. Each attraction <NUM> may accommodate a plurality of users <NUM> (e.g., guests, patrons). As discussed herein, the amusement park <NUM> may utilize a multi-layer system infrastructure to accommodate technological refreshes, updates, and so forth, while minimizing downtime and impact of overall aesthetics and operations of the amusement park <NUM>. Particularly, modularity of the multi-layer system infrastructure may provide for a change (e.g., an update, a replacement, an addition, and/or a removal) of one or more hardware or software components without substantially affecting other elements (e.g., other hardware or software components) of the system.

To illustrate, in certain embodiments, the amusement park <NUM> may include a first attraction <NUM>, a second attraction <NUM>, and a third attraction <NUM>. However, it should be understood that the amusement park <NUM> may include any suitable number of attractions <NUM>. Each attraction <NUM> may include any suitable number of hardware components <NUM>, such as physical components that may use and interact (e.g., communicate) with software components <NUM>, which may be stored in a memory device <NUM> of one or more controllers <NUM> to perform tasks associated with a particular attraction <NUM>, as discussed in further detail herein. Indeed, there may be any suitable number of controllers <NUM>. In certain embodiments, each attraction <NUM> may be associated with a respective controller <NUM>. The amusement park <NUM> may further include one or more hardware components <NUM> within an environment <NUM> (e.g., queues) of the amusement park <NUM>, which may also be communicatively coupled to the one or more controllers <NUM>. In certain embodiments, the environment <NUM> may include the attractions <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may employ a processor <NUM>, which may represent one or more processors, such as an application-specific processor. The controller <NUM> may also include the memory device <NUM> for storing instructions executable by the processor <NUM> to perform the methods and control actions of the amusement park <NUM> as described herein. The processor <NUM> may include one or more processing devices, and the memory <NUM> may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media. By way of example, such machine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by the processor <NUM> or by any general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor.

The controller <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to elements of the amusement park <NUM> through a communication system <NUM>. In some embodiments, the communication system <NUM> may communicate wirelessly. By way of non-limiting example, such communication may involve a wireless network (e.g., wireless local area networks [WLAN], wireless wide area networks [WWAN]), near field communication [NFC], or Bluetooth. Additionally or alternatively, the communication system <NUM> may use wired communication, such as a wired network including a local area network [LAN], or wide area network [WAN].

Each hardware component <NUM> (e.g., peripheral device) may be categorized as an input device and/or an output device. That is, each hardware component <NUM> may be an input device, an output device, or an input/output device. An input device may receive an input, such as from one of the plurality of users <NUM>, and send input signals indicative of the received input to the controller <NUM>. The hardware components <NUM> may include interactive components, and the input may be received via one or more user input devices (e.g., buttons, knobs, touchscreens, joysticks, actuatable elements, steering controls, triggers) of the interactive components. Correspondingly, and as a result of the input signals, the output devices may receive the input signals, which may be received from the controller <NUM> and/or directly from the input devices. For example, the controller <NUM> may then, in turn, send one or more signals to one or more locations, such as the output devices, within the amusement park <NUM> to provide an appropriate response according to the received input. The output devices may react accordingly to the signal, such as through actuation of a device or through display of images/information via a display device or via any suitable visual experience generator. For example, with regard to hardware components <NUM> of the first attraction <NUM>, input devices may include AR/VR devices, such as AR/VR tools and head mounted displays (HMDs), and output devices may include the HMDs as images are displayed via the HMDs.

With regard to the hardware components <NUM> of the second attraction <NUM>, input devices may include ride devices (e.g., tools) that the users <NUM> may interact with during a ride cycle and output devices may include animatronic show pieces and ride vehicles. With regard to the hardware components <NUM> of the third attraction <NUM>, input devices may include steering wheels and output devices may include a scoreboard, and a game floor display. However, it is to be understood that the amusement park <NUM> may include any suitable number of attractions <NUM> with any suitable number and type of hardware components <NUM>. Further, AR/VR devices may serve as input/output devices that facilitate user interaction with the attraction <NUM> to generate the input and cause another hardware element to output a response. In turn, the response may also trigger output changes to the AR/VR devices (e.g., to the display of the AR/VR devices).

Each of the hardware components <NUM> and software components <NUM> may be replaced or updated based on various factors. For example, emerging technologies, movies or other media releases, seasonal change, time of day, routine maintenance, or any combination thereof may motivate a change to the hardware components <NUM> and/or software components <NUM> of the amusement park <NUM>. When a component (e.g., a hardware component <NUM> or a software component <NUM>) is introduced, updated, or otherwise changed within the amusement park <NUM>, the component may be registered with the amusement park <NUM> such that the component may interact (e.g., communicate) with other components of the amusement park <NUM>. That is, the one or more controllers <NUM> may include various protocols to send and receive information to and from components of the amusement park <NUM> as discussed in further detail with reference to <FIG>.

Each of the attractions described with respect to <FIG> may include modular components that form all or part of a modular attraction system as previously discussed. To illustrate an example of the manner in which such a system may be implemented, <FIG> is a block diagram of a system architecture of a modular attraction system <NUM> of the amusement park <NUM>. The modular attraction system <NUM> may be separated into a game layer <NUM>, a software layer <NUM> (e.g., a software architecture layer), and a hardware layer <NUM> (e.g., a hardware architecture layer). The game layer <NUM> and the software layer <NUM> may each be stored within the memory <NUM> of the controller <NUM>. The game layer <NUM> and the software layer <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the hardware layer <NUM> via the communication system <NUM>. The game layer <NUM> may include a game logic <NUM>, which determines logic of when an attraction <NUM> interacts with, changes, and/or manipulates elements (e.g., hardware components <NUM> and/or software components <NUM>) of the attractions <NUM>. That is, the game layer <NUM> may operate and execute game logic <NUM>.

The software layer <NUM> may include one or more game application programming interfaces (APIs) <NUM>, one or more wrapper APIs <NUM>, and multiple wrappers <NUM>. The game API <NUM> may define an interface language set that any game implementation (e.g., game logic <NUM> of a particular attraction <NUM>) can use to communicate with the software layer <NUM> and the hardware layer <NUM>. For example, the game logic <NUM> may communicate with the game API <NUM> to trigger various environmental stimuli (e.g., reactions carried out through the hardware components <NUM>) within the amusement park <NUM>.

The wrapper API <NUM> may route messages from the game API <NUM> to the wrappers <NUM>. The wrappers <NUM> are software elements that conform, extend, and/or implement a standard interface class and are configured to register with the wrapper API <NUM> to receive the messages associated with the environmental stimuli. The wrappers <NUM> may communicate with a driver associated with a particular hardware component <NUM> so that the hardware component <NUM> may receive the messages associated with environmental stimuli. In certain embodiments, each hardware component <NUM> may be associated with one or more respective wrappers <NUM>. The wrappers <NUM> may serve as a buffer between the hardware components <NUM> of the hardware layer <NUM> and the software components <NUM> of the software layer <NUM>. For example, when the hardware components <NUM> are updated or changed, the change or update will not impact operations, logic, and/or builds of the software components <NUM>. Conversely, as software components <NUM> are updated, the wrappers <NUM> may reduce and/or prevent the need to update the hardware components <NUM> to be compatible with the updated software components <NUM>. In certain embodiments, additional hardware components <NUM> or features may be added. In such embodiments, one or more wrappers <NUM> associated with the newly added hardware components may also be added to the software layer <NUM>. The newly added wrappers <NUM> may then be registered with the wrapper API <NUM> to allow proper communication of signals (e.g., messages, events).

The hardware layer <NUM> may include the hardware components <NUM> which, as discussed herein, are configured to be readily replaceable and/or updatable. That is, the hardware components <NUM> may utilize a modular design (e.g., composed of standardized units), standard (e.g., universal) mounting points, and dynamic internal configurations to improve implementation of new hardware components <NUM> and updates to existing hardware components <NUM>. For example, the hardware components <NUM> may utilize a general purpose interface bus (GPIB) <NUM> (e.g., general purpose interface (GPI)), which may form part of the communication system <NUM>, to communicate with components within the software layer <NUM> and other hardware components <NUM> within the hardware layer <NUM>. Indeed, in certain embodiments, the hardware components <NUM> may utilize wired and/or wireless communication. In some embodiments, the hardware components <NUM> may communicate without the use of a network, such as by direct or broadcast communications through wired and/or wireless means.

As a further example, the hardware components <NUM> may utilize and/or be a line replaceable unit (LRU) <NUM>, which is a modular component that is readily replaceable at the operating location of the unit. Particularly, the LRU <NUM> may be quickly replaced at the attraction <NUM> (e.g., "on the line"), which may provide for decreased downtime of the attraction <NUM>. Indeed, the hardware components <NUM> within the hardware layer <NUM> may utilize, for example, a limited number (e.g., one) of standards associated with various components, such as power supply standards, input and output module standards, and others. In this manner, if a portion (or all) of a hardware component <NUM> should be added or changed, the portion may easily be implemented due at least in part to the standard (e.g., general, universal, modular) components. The modular design of the hardware components <NUM> may be based on standards, guidelines, and best practices to ensure correct implementation. In certain embodiments, the hardware components <NUM> may provide self-testing. That is, the hardware component <NUM> may determine if it is suitable to continue operation. For example, the hardware component <NUM> may include one or more sensors <NUM> configured to monitor inputs and outputs of the hardware component <NUM> to determine the operational status of the hardware component <NUM>, such as whether the hardware component <NUM> is operating as intended and/or if a part within the hardware component <NUM> should be replaced/updated, such as if the hardware component <NUM> is nearing an end of its product lifecycle.

An example embodiment of the modular attraction system <NUM> within the amusement park <NUM> is shown schematically in <FIG>. As illustrated, the amusement park <NUM> may include a ride <NUM> as the second attraction <NUM>. The ride <NUM> may be positioned within the environment <NUM> having various features, such as fixed equipment, building layouts, props, decorations, and so forth, corresponding to a theme. In certain embodiments, the ride <NUM> may include a dark ride or other similar thrill ride, and may include a ride path <NUM> (e.g., a closed-loop track or a system of closed-loop tracks to support forward and/or rearward motion of a ride vehicle <NUM> along the ride path <NUM>; vertically-extending track to support vertical motion of the ride vehicle <NUM> along the ride path <NUM>). The ride path <NUM> may be provided as an infrastructure on which the ride vehicle <NUM> may travel as users <NUM> are accommodated by the ride vehicle <NUM>. The ride path <NUM> may thus define the motion of the ride vehicle <NUM>. However, in another embodiment, for example, the ride path <NUM> may be replaced by a controlled path, in which the movement of the ride vehicle <NUM> may be controlled via an electronic system, a magnetic system, or other similar system infrastructure other than the ride path <NUM>. In other words, the ride path of the ride vehicle <NUM> may not be physically constrained to an exact path, thereby allowing the users <NUM> some degree of control over their motion path, view perspective, and so forth. Other amusement park attractions may be positioned sufficiently proximate to the ride <NUM> to allow the users <NUM> a view of the attractions. By way of example, such attractions may include buildings <NUM> or similar structures.

It should be appreciated that while the ride vehicle <NUM> may be illustrated as a <NUM>-passenger vehicle, in other embodiments, the ride vehicle <NUM> may include any number of passenger spaces (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or more spaces) to accommodate a single or multiple groups of passengers. It should also be appreciated that while the ride <NUM> may be illustrated having one ride vehicle <NUM>, the ride <NUM> may include any number of ride vehicles <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or more). As the ride vehicle <NUM> travels along the ride path <NUM>, the users <NUM> may be provided a moving tour of the scenery (e.g., themed environment that may include fixed equipment, building layouts, props, decorations, and so forth corresponding to the theme). The scenery may include the environment surrounding the ride <NUM> and/or the environment within an infrastructure that may fully or partially house the ride <NUM>.

While the users <NUM> may find the ride <NUM> to be a very enjoyable experience, in certain embodiments, it may be useful to enhance their ride experience. Specifically, the ride experience provided to the users <NUM> may be enhanced with gaming effects and other entertainment (e.g., multimedia entertainment) provided by the modular attraction system <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the modular attraction system <NUM> includes an on-board system <NUM> integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM> and an off-board system <NUM>, which together are configured to provide augmented reality and/or virtual reality (AR/VR) experiences to the users <NUM> by way of head mounted displays (HMDs) <NUM> and/or other devices (e.g., other visual experience generators, speakers, haptic features). For example, as the ride vehicle <NUM> travels along the ride path <NUM>, the modular attraction system <NUM>, via the on-board system <NUM>, may coordinate AR/VR images or features, such as AR/VR objects <NUM> (shown as a clown floating over the buildings <NUM>), to be shown to the users <NUM> on their respective HMDs <NUM>. The off-board system <NUM> may include various physical features such as displays, animatronics, and so forth. The operation of these devices may be coordinated with the visualizations presented on the HMDs <NUM>.

Indeed, as set forth above, the modular attraction system <NUM> may coordinate the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM> to collectively and collaboratively enhance the ride experience of the users <NUM>. In certain embodiments, all or a portion of the off-board system <NUM> may be disposed along the ride path <NUM>. For example, as the ride vehicle <NUM> travels along the ride path <NUM>, the modular attraction system <NUM>, via the off- board system <NUM>, may coordinate visual and/or audible media provided by way of light systems, sound systems, animatronics, display systems, or any combination thereof, disposed along the ride path <NUM>. The modular attraction system <NUM> may utilize the communication system <NUM>, for example communication devices such as servers, routers, communication modules, antennas, and so forth, in the on-board system <NUM> and/or the off- board system <NUM> to facilitate provision of various show features to the users <NUM>. The on- board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM> may communicate, for instance, over a network <NUM> to allow for coordination between on-board show events and off-board show events.

In the illustrated embodiment, for instance, the off-board system <NUM> includes an automated prop <NUM> that is controlled by features of the off-board system <NUM> in coordination with the on-board system <NUM>. More specifically, as shown, the animated prop <NUM> is a cannon that shoots darts. The movement of the cannon, as well as air effects (e.g., air blasts), sound and/or light effects, and so forth provided by the cannon may be coordinated with rendering and display of the clown (AR object <NUM>). For instance, by coordinating operation of the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM>, the cannon (automated prop <NUM>) may seem to track the clown and the clown's balloons to seemingly shoot the balloons with darts to pop them and allow the clown to return to the ground.

As noted above, while the on-board system <NUM> is shown in <FIG> as being positioned on the ride vehicle <NUM>, the components of the on-board system <NUM> may be placed in various locations relative to the ride vehicle <NUM> (e.g., placed along the ride path <NUM> to be co-located with the ride vehicle <NUM> during at least a portion of the ride). The modular attraction system <NUM> may also be used with other types of attractions, including attractions with stationary ride vehicles that do not travel along a ride path and/or attractions without ride vehicles.

In accordance with present embodiments, and as noted above, features of the on-board system <NUM>, features of the off-board system <NUM>, or any combination thereof, may be designed to readily allow maintenance and technical refreshes. For example, updated technologies may enable a more realistic simulation of the clown, darts, and so forth. <FIG> depict example architectures to achieve refresh-ready designs.

<FIG> is a block diagram of various components of the on-board system <NUM> of the modular attraction system <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the on-board system <NUM> is a dedicated system disposed on or integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM>. It should be appreciated that the on-board system <NUM> may be integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM> such that all of the components of the on-board system <NUM> are physically located on the ride vehicle <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>), or the on-board system <NUM> may be integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM> such that at least some components of the on-board system <NUM> are physically located on the ride vehicle <NUM> and at least some components of the on-board system <NUM> are physically located off of the ride vehicle <NUM> (e.g., physically separated from the ride vehicle <NUM>). For example, the on-board game server <NUM> may be located off of the ride vehicle <NUM> and may communicate with the other components of the on-board system <NUM> via the network <NUM> to drive the on-board experience.

Additionally, as noted above, the attraction may not include a ride vehicle, but instead the user may walk or otherwise travel through the attraction wearing or carrying one or more interactive components, such as the one or more display features (e.g., the HMD), speakers, and/or haptics. In some such cases, all of the components of the on-board system <NUM> may be worn or carried by the user (e.g., move with the user), while all of the components of the off-board system <NUM> may be located off of the user (e.g., do not move with the user). However, the on-board system <NUM> may additionally or alternatively include components that are co-located with the user (e.g., components that are not worn or carried by the user, but are in proximity of the user during at least a portion of the amusement park attraction). In some such cases, at least some components of the on-board system may be positioned at a location along a path traversed by the user or otherwise proximate to the user, and these components of the on-board system <NUM> may communicate (e.g., via a wireless network) with other components of the on-board system <NUM> that are worn or carried by the user when the user is at or near the location along the path to drive the on-board experience. Furthermore, some components of the on-board system <NUM> may be located remotely from the user and/or the ride vehicle <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the on-board system <NUM> may include a local network established using a central network switch <NUM> (e.g., an "on-board" network switch), which is configured to manage, or allow for management, of communications between various features of the on-board system <NUM>. The switch <NUM> is configured to allow for communication between the on-board system <NUM> and the network <NUM> via a network communication device <NUM>. In certain embodiments, the switch <NUM> and the network communication device <NUM> may be integrated together in a single device (e.g., communication device). As an example, the switch <NUM> may be a router or similar device and the network communication device <NUM> may be a modem or similar device. It should be appreciated that the on-board system <NUM> may include any suitable communication component(s) that enable communication between the on-board system <NUM> and the network <NUM>.

In accordance with present embodiments, the network communication device <NUM> and the switch <NUM> may be separate, but may utilize standardized communication protocols and connectors to facilitate connection with a wide variety of devices. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the switch <NUM> has an internal network connection (internal to the on-board system <NUM>) with the on-board game server <NUM>, the VSS <NUM>, and one or more on-board game systems <NUM>, for example by way of one or more communications buses, cabling, or wireless devices. These features are described in further detail below.

The on-board game server <NUM>, the vehicle show supervisor (VSS) <NUM>, and the one or more on-board game systems <NUM>, as illustrated, are connected to various devices on board the ride vehicle <NUM> and/or to one another. These connections are intended to indicate one or more communications connections, power connections, and so forth. Further, it should be noted that while only one block is used for certain components, such components may be present as multiple devices and are designated with an asterisk. For example, while the on-board game systems <NUM> is shown as a single box, this single box may, in certain embodiments, represent a series of features (a plurality of on-board game systems) that are redundantly in place for each of the positions corresponding to one of the users <NUM> (e.g., each seat of the ride vehicle <NUM>). Again, in the context of the ride vehicle <NUM>, it should be noted that the user <NUM> is intended, in some embodiments, to denote a passenger of the ride vehicle <NUM>. Other illustrated features that may be redundantly present include tracking sensors <NUM> and user interfaces <NUM>.

One or more tracking systems <NUM> are illustrated as connected to the one or more tracking sensors <NUM>. The tracking system <NUM> may include a special-purpose computing device disposed on or integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM> to process data generated by the tracking sensors <NUM> indicative of the positions, locations, orientations, presences, and so forth of the HMDs <NUM>, the users <NUM>, the ride vehicle <NUM>, or any combination of these. The tracking system <NUM> may be configured to interface with a variety of tracking devices, and is programmed to receive data from the tracking sensors <NUM> and to process this data to provide tracking information to the on-board game server <NUM>. Indeed, the tracking system <NUM> may have a direct network connection to the on-board game server <NUM> to minimize latency between the reception of tracking data and concomitant responses by the various features of the on-board system <NUM> and/or off-board system <NUM>. Further, this direct connection may facilitate technical refreshes and maintenance since the manner in which the tracking data may be used by the on-board system <NUM> is not necessarily dependent on any of the other devices present in the system.

The tracking sensors <NUM> may include orientation and position sensors (e.g., accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, Global Positioning System [GPS] receivers), motion tracking sensors (e.g., electromagnetic and solid-state motion tracking sensors), inertial measurement units (IMU), presence sensors, and others. In some embodiments, the tracking sensors <NUM> may be disposed on or integrated with the HMDs <NUM> and thus are configured to generate data representative of the motion and orientation of the HMDs. Indeed, the data received by tracking system <NUM> may be useful in determining each user's gaze direction, viewing perspective, field of view, viewing interest, interaction with the game, and so forth. Additionally or alternatively, the tracking system <NUM> may also use data generated by the tracking sensors <NUM> to track operational information of the ride vehicle <NUM>, including but not limited to, a position, orientation, velocity, motion vector, or other parameter of the ride vehicle <NUM>.

As set forth previously, the user interfaces <NUM> may be present for each of the users <NUM> to allow each user <NUM> some level of control over their experience. In certain embodiments, the one or more user interfaces <NUM> may be disposed on or integrated with each seat or passenger space of the ride vehicle <NUM>. The one or more user interfaces <NUM> may include analog and digital devices, such as handheld controllers, joysticks, push buttons, steering wheels, and so forth. For example, the one or more user interfaces <NUM> may be configured to enable different actions and/or effects to be applied in the AR/VR environment established on the HMDs <NUM> using other features of the on-board game systems <NUM>. For example, the one or more user interfaces <NUM> may allow the user <NUM> to affect a character or an object of the AR/VR features in different directions (e.g., up, down, left, right) in the AR/VR environment. By way of more specific but non-limiting example, the one or more user interfaces <NUM> may allow the passenger to make selections or grab/release objects of the AR/VR features in the AR/VR environment. In some embodiments, the one or more user interfaces <NUM> may allow the user <NUM> to control operation of the ride vehicle <NUM>, such as changing its velocity and/or direction. In some embodiments, the one or more user interfaces <NUM> may also include one or more display screens and/or touch screens to allow information to be communicated to the user <NUM>.

The user interfaces <NUM> may be directly coupled to the VSS <NUM>, which may be a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other suitable control device. For instance, the VSS <NUM> may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions stored in the memory. The VSS <NUM> may be considered to be one of the controllers <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

The VSS <NUM>, generally, may be configured to coordinate various operations of the on-board system <NUM> in response to user inputs and in response to instructions provided by the on-board game systems <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM>, for example due to execution of game logic. In the illustrated embodiment, the VSS <NUM> is communicatively coupled to the one or more on-board game systems <NUM> and the one or more user interfaces <NUM>, such that information may be provided to and from the one or more user interfaces <NUM> and the one or more on-board game systems <NUM>. The VSS <NUM> may also provide power to the one or more user interfaces <NUM> and the one or more on-board game systems <NUM>, as appropriate.

By way of non-limiting example, the VSS <NUM> may have a number of voltage connections to the on-board game systems <NUM> for power-on commands, reset commands, and for power indications from the on-board game systems <NUM>. For instance, during operation the VSS <NUM> may send signals to reset and/or to change on/off states of the one or more on-board game systems <NUM>. Similar connections may also be present between the VSS <NUM> and the user interfaces <NUM>. In embodiments where the one or more user interfaces <NUM> include one or more display screens and/or touch screens, the VSS <NUM> may control a power state of the device, timing of the device, certain content (e.g., displayed content), and so forth. Other vehicle show effect devices <NUM> may also be connected to, powered, and controlled by the VSS <NUM>. By way of example, such devices <NUM> may include vehicle lights, automated devices of the ride vehicle <NUM>, effect devices of the ride vehicle <NUM> (e.g., air cannons, water cannons), and so forth.

As illustrated and noted above, the VSS <NUM> has one or more direct connections to the on-board game systems <NUM> to allow for power cycling, power state control, and so forth. However, the VSS <NUM> may also control other devices responsible for motion of the ride vehicle <NUM>. For example, the VSS <NUM> may control steering features (e.g., axles, wheels) in response to inputs from the user interfaces <NUM>, and in response to data received from the on-board game server <NUM> relating to other ride vehicles <NUM>, off-board show elements, and so forth.

Indeed, in a given ride attraction, there may be multiple ride vehicles <NUM>, each having a corresponding set of devices. To facilitate coordination between these devices and because the inputs from multiple users <NUM> may be used to update each user's experience, inputs from the user interfaces <NUM>, rather than simply being provided directly to the on-board game system <NUM> corresponding to an individual user, may instead be provided to the network <NUM> via the local network connection between the VSS <NUM> and the switch <NUM>. Provision of such inputs, as noted above, may be controlled by the on-board game server <NUM>. In such embodiments, each user's inputs are coordinated and communicated over the local network of the ride vehicle <NUM> and the network <NUM>, which allows rapid communication with low latency because the inputs are not processed (or are minimally processed) before they are received by the individual on-board game systems <NUM> and the VSS <NUM>. It should be appreciated that some or all of capabilities of the VSS <NUM> disclosed herein may be included in another processing component (e.g., processing or computing system) of the on-board system <NUM>, such as in the on-board game server <NUM>.

As there are multiple on-board game systems <NUM>, each controlled in accordance with inputs from multiple user input devices <NUM>, the architecture shown in <FIG> allows for ready replacement, maintenance, and updates to be performed on them individually without requiring corresponding activities to be performed on other input devices <NUM> or other on-board game systems <NUM>. Further, this type of connection and communication scheme may also reduce latency in graphical rendering activity performed by the on-board game systems <NUM>, for example in response to user inputs.

To allow for the coordinated and controlled data communication set forth above, the on-board game server <NUM> may include a special-purpose computing device (e.g., a specially-programmed computing device) that is programmed to coordinate how information is transmitted and received on the network <NUM> with respect to the ride vehicle <NUM>. That is, the on-board game server <NUM> may coordinate network data traffic for the ride vehicle <NUM>, including data that is transmitted over the network <NUM> to and from the off-board system <NUM> and to other ride vehicles <NUM>. This may be done, for example, to ensure that certain types of data are prioritized over others according to an information hierarchy (e.g., a communication hierarchy). The on-board game server <NUM> may include one or more programmable logic controllers (PLCs), or other suitable control devices. Additionally or alternatively, the on-board game server <NUM> may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions stored in the memory. In certain embodiments, the on-board game server <NUM> is a server computer which may also include standardized communications ports to allow for ready integration of new, replacement, or repaired devices, and may be programmed to communicate in accordance with appropriate standards (e.g., proprietary standards, IEEE standards).

As noted, the on-board game server <NUM>, generally, may be configured to coordinate communication of various information between the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM>, and also between the various components of the on-board system <NUM>. In particular, the various information may be routed via the switch <NUM>. As also previously noted, the switch <NUM> is generally a router or any suitable networking device that forwards information (e.g., data packets) to destination nodes (e.g., the various devices of the on-board system <NUM>) or computer networks, so as to perform the traffic directing functions on the network (e.g., the communication network <NUM> and the local network of the ride vehicle <NUM>). As an example, the on-board game server <NUM> may direct information between the one or more tracking systems <NUM>, the one or more on-board game systems <NUM>, and the VSS <NUM>, via the switch <NUM>.

In addition, the on-board game server <NUM> may be configured to coordinate or synchronize communication of information depending on the information type (e.g., information priority). By way of example, the on-board game server <NUM> may determine or have stored relative priorities of the different types of information and communicate such information based on their relative priorities. In an example information hierarchy, information related to operations of the ride <NUM> may be a first type, information related to generation of the game and entertainment experiences may be a second type, and so forth. By way of more specific example, information that may ensure or affect operations and/or safety of the ride <NUM> may have the highest priority, information that conveys game-related notifications or game-related information may have the second highest priority, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the on-board game server <NUM> may communicate information determined as having the highest priority before communicating other information determined as having a lower priority. In a practical sense, for example, if one ride vehicle <NUM> is identified as being stopped, this information would be communicated to other ride vehicles <NUM> (e.g., to allow for emergency stops of the remaining ride vehicles <NUM>) before other information (e.g., game information) is transmitted.

In some embodiments, the on-board game server <NUM> may communicate information based on their types and relative priorities and other factors, such as the available bandwidth of the network <NUM>, timing of the game and entertainment experiences, size of the data packet, etc. As such, the on-board game server <NUM> may coordinate or synchronize the communication of various information effectively and ensure communication of important information.

The one or more on-board game systems <NUM>, generally, may be configured to provide game experiences (e.g., AR/VR experiences) to the users <NUM> via the HMDs 92and/or other devices (e.g., other visual experience generators, speakers, haptic features). In particular, each seat or passenger space of the ride vehicle <NUM> may include a dedicated on-board game system <NUM>, and the plurality of on-board game systems <NUM> allow for the passengers to participate in a shared game (e.g., a multiplayer game). The one or more on-board game systems <NUM> will be discussed in more detail in <FIG>, which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the one or more on-board game systems <NUM> of the ride vehicle <NUM> (or multiple ride vehicles <NUM>).

As illustrated in <FIG>, the one or more on-board game systems <NUM> may include various features that, as a whole, are configured to provide a gaming experience that is enhanced with AR/VR graphics to one of the users <NUM>. More specifically, <FIG> illustrates a plurality of the on-board game systems <NUM>, including a first on-board game system 118A, a second on-board game system 118B, and so on. to an nth on-board game system 118N (e.g., depending on the number of available seats and corresponding on-board game systems provided by the ride vehicle <NUM>). Specific components are described herein with respect to the first on-board game system 118A, but it should be appreciated that similar or the same components may be present in all the on-board game systems <NUM>. Further, the components described herein may be integrated into the on-board game systems <NUM> in a manner that is consistent with the approach described with respect to <FIG>. It should be appreciated that an on-board game system <NUM> may not be provided for each seat of the ride vehicle <NUM>. For example, an on-board game system <NUM> may instead be provided for a group of seats (e.g., a team of users) or for the ride vehicle <NUM> as a whole, and the AR/VR experience may be provided via multiple HMDs <NUM> and/or other types of visual experience generator(s). As another example, the on-board system <NUM> may be used in an attraction without the ride vehicle <NUM>, and in such cases, the on-board game systems <NUM> may be provided for each user or for a group of users.

The first on-board game system 118A includes a gaming computer <NUM> programmed with appropriate game logic, and may incorporate appropriate rendering hardware and software that is capable of being integrated into the on-board game system <NUM> in a manner that allows rapid maintenance, replacement, and technical refreshes as set forth in <FIG>. For example, the gaming computer <NUM> may include processing circuitry <NUM> and memory circuitry <NUM> specially programmed to perform functions associated with graphical rendering and overlay. For example, the gaming computer <NUM> may include one or more graphics cards.

By way of example, the processing circuitry <NUM> and the memory circuitry <NUM> may include game logic, and may run simulations of the real-world ride vehicle <NUM> based on, for example, a stored map of the real-world environment, motion profile information, and stage geometry for the placement of virtual objects in real space via the HMDs <NUM>. Each gaming computer <NUM> may perform these functions for each on-board game system <NUM>, or certain functions may be shared across the different gaming computers <NUM> of the on-board game systems <NUM>. For example, the gaming computer <NUM> of the first on-board game system 118A may render content and perform simulations corresponding to actions of a first user, and the gaming computer <NUM> of the second on-board game system 118B may render content and perform simulations corresponding to actions of a second user. These renderings and simulations may, in certain embodiments, be communicated across on-board game systems <NUM> to reduce computing time. However, in certain embodiments and as set forth above, the on-board game server <NUM> may communicate non-processed or minimally proceed data to all the on-board game systems <NUM> to reduce input latency. Further, in certain embodiments, the gaming computers <NUM> may have more sophisticated programming and communication to allow for information sharing, such as direct memory access capabilities.

The gaming computer <NUM> is communicatively coupled by way of communication and power conductors (e.g., hardwired) to the HMD <NUM>. For example, the HMD <NUM> may essentially be considered the display corresponding to the gaming computer <NUM>. Because the gaming computer <NUM> is able to provide power and communication to the HMD <NUM>, the HMD <NUM> does not necessarily require a local power source or local processing circuitry for rendering content. The connections between the gaming computer <NUM> and the HMD <NUM> may be made in accordance with any appropriate communications and power standards. For example, the gaming computer <NUM> may power and/or provide video to the HMD <NUM> using any appropriate universal serial bus (USB) standard, any appropriate high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) standard, or other communication, power, and/or connection standard, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the HMD <NUM> may be tethered to the ride vehicle <NUM>, and there may be one or more intermediate interfaces between the HMD <NUM> and the gaming computer <NUM> located on and/or within the ride vehicle <NUM>. Such a configuration may be desirable, for example, to allow maintenance to be performed on the HMD <NUM> (e.g., cleaning between uses by different users <NUM>) with minimal to no downtime for the ride vehicle <NUM>.

The HMD <NUM>, generally, may be configured to display the AR/VR environment rendered by the gaming computer <NUM>. In particular, the HMD <NUM> may include electronic eyeglasses that may include one or more displays configured to allow projection and/or overlay of AR/VR features. The HMD <NUM> may also include orientation and/or position sensors, such as accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscopes, GPS receiver, motion tracking sensor, electromagnetic and solid-state motion tracking sensor, IMU, presence sensor, and others. Indeed, in certain embodiments, the HMD <NUM> may incorporate the tracking sensors <NUM> set forth in <FIG>. In accordance with present embodiments, the HMD <NUM> may receive display signals so that the AR/VR graphics can be shown on the one or more displays.

The gaming computer <NUM> may also render content in accordance with identifying information associated with the user <NUM>. For example, the gaming computer <NUM> as illustrated is communicatively coupled to an identification system <NUM>. The identification system <NUM> is generally configured to read identifying information about the user <NUM> from a device that is associated with the user <NUM> (e.g., a personal electronic device, wearable, or the like). For example, the identification system <NUM> may include radiofrequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC), or any other suitable identification technology to determine the identification of the respective user <NUM>. For example, the identification system <NUM> may include an RFID reader to read an RFID tag carried by the respective user <NUM> to determine some aspect relating to the user <NUM>, for example a team association of the user <NUM> (e.g., team "barn animal" versus team "clown"). In some embodiments, the information detected by the identification system <NUM> may be used by the gaming computer <NUM> to generate a personalized game experience by rendering content that is associated with the user's information. For example, if the user <NUM> is on team clown, content may be rendered in accordance with a clown theme (e.g., with balloons, cotton candy).

To provide a more immersive experience, the ride vehicle <NUM> may also include audio outputs. In the illustrated embodiment, the first on-board game system 118A includes a digital signal processor (DSP) <NUM> and one or more audio devices <NUM>. The audio may be provided in a dedicated manner for each of the users <NUM>, for example as headphones specific to each user <NUM>, speakers proximate the head area for each user <NUM>, and so forth. Additionally or alternatively, the audio may be provided for the entire ride vehicle <NUM>, but with dedicated signals being provided to each speaker of the ride vehicle <NUM> to provide for surround sound effects, and so forth. In this respect, the DSP <NUM> may include corresponding processing circuitry configured to perform digital signal processing to generate audio effects based on instructions from the gaming computer <NUM>, and to output audio signals to the one or more audio devices <NUM>. It should be noted that in embodiments where the audio outputs are shared for the entire ride vehicle <NUM>, there may be only one DSP <NUM> per ride vehicle <NUM>, and accordingly all the gaming computers <NUM> on that ride vehicle <NUM> may provide inputs to the same digital signal processor <NUM>.

In practice of certain embodiments, the gaming computer <NUM> may receive inputs from a variety of sources, but are generally communicated from the switch <NUM> and the on-board game server <NUM> (see, e.g., <FIG>), unless the inputs are from the identification system <NUM> or are power signals. Based on the inputs, the gaming computer <NUM> may process and render graphics to be displayed using the HMD <NUM>. The gaming computer <NUM> may also provide audio information to the DSP <NUM> in concert with rendering of the graphics, to allow the DSP <NUM> to generate audio signals for the one or more audio devices <NUM>. The inputs may include information communicated via the on-board game server <NUM>, such as information useful in generating AR/VR experience for the respective user <NUM>. The inputs may include, but are not limited to, information related to or indicative of the user's position, orientation, focal length, gaze direction, field of view, motion, or any combination thereof. The inputs may, additionally or alternatively, include, but are not limited to, information related to or indicative of the ride vehicle's position, orientation, motion vector, velocity, or any combination thereof.

The inputs may additionally or alternatively include, but are not limited to, information related to or indicative of the passenger's user information (e.g., any suitable information provided by or authorized by the user/passenger, such as payment information, membership information), personal information (e.g., age, height, special needs, etc.), gaming information (e.g., information about the AR/VR game associated with themed attractions, information about a particular character the user/passenger is associated with in the AR/VR game, information about game history of the user), or any combination thereof. As may be appreciated, the information detected by the identification system <NUM> may allow the gaming computer <NUM> to link or associate the respective user <NUM> to a particular portion of the inputs corresponding to data indicative of the user information, personal information, gaming information, or any combination thereof.

Further still, the inputs may include, but are not limited to, information related to or indicative of the user's engagement or interaction with the AR/VR features, such as operation of handheld controllers, joysticks, push buttons, or any combination thereof of the one or more user interfaces <NUM>. As such, the gaming computer <NUM> may generate AR/VR features corresponding to actions applied by the user <NUM> (e.g., actions in the AR/VR environment, such as shooting a stream of water, grabbing an AR or VR object). The inputs may include, but are not limited to, information related to or indicative of the user's engagement in a shared game (e.g., a game having multiple players). As such, the gaming computers <NUM> of the on-board game systems <NUM> engaged in the shared game may coordinate generation and rendering of the AR/VR features, such that the users <NUM> engaged in the same game may see the same AR/VR features on their HMDs <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an embodiment of the ride vehicle <NUM>, illustrating an example of various components of the on-board system <NUM> integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM>. As noted above, in some embodiments, certain components of the on-board system <NUM> may be located off of the ride vehicle <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the ride vehicle <NUM> may have a body <NUM> or a frame including a front portion 152A, a back portion 152B, a side portion 152C, and a bottom portion 152D, all or some of which may be fitted with access panels <NUM>. For example, the access panels <NUM> may be formed into a surface of the body <NUM>. In accordance with present embodiments, the access panels <NUM> may be used to readily access mechanical features of the ride vehicle <NUM> and/or features of the on-board system <NUM>.

One or more seats or passenger spaces <NUM> (e.g., four seats) of the ride vehicle <NUM> are configured to accommodate one or more passengers (users <NUM>). The ride vehicle <NUM> may include one or more front panels <NUM> in front of the one or more seats <NUM> to allow the users <NUM> to access various features, such as the user interfaces <NUM>, HMDs <NUM>, and so forth. Indeed, at least some of the various components of the on-board system <NUM> may be integrated with and/or disposed on the ride vehicle <NUM> in an arrangement as discussed below. However, it should be noted that such an arrangement is provided as an example, and in other embodiments, the arrangement may vary depending at least on the configuration of the ride vehicle <NUM>.

In the illustrated example, the on-board game server <NUM> may be in the front portion 152A of the body <NUM>. The on-board game systems <NUM>, or certain of their respective features, may be in usable proximity of their respective seats <NUM>. As one particular example, the HMD <NUM> of the on-board game system <NUM> may be tethered via a cable or a wire to the front panel <NUM>. The identification systems <NUM> and the audio devices <NUM> of the on-board game systems <NUM> may also be disposed on or integrated with the front panels <NUM>.

Each of the gaming computers <NUM> may be disposed, for example, in a space or compartment in or below a respective one of the seats <NUM>. The user interfaces <NUM> may be integrated with the respective front panel <NUM> and/or adjacent to the respective seat <NUM>. As set forth above, each seat <NUM> has a dedicated HMD <NUM>, identification system <NUM>, audio device <NUM>, gaming computer <NUM>, and user interface <NUM>. The tracking systems <NUM> may be disposed on or integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM> at locations suited for the functionality. For example, some of the sensors <NUM> (e.g., accelerometer, GPS receiver, presence sensor, motion tracking sensor) of the tracking system <NUM> may be disposed in the front portion 152A of the body <NUM>, and some of the sensors <NUM> (e.g., IMU, gyroscope) may be disposed on or integrated with the HMD <NUM>. It should be noted that, generally, the various components of the on-board system <NUM> are integrated with the ride vehicle <NUM> in a manner such that the various components are readily accessible via the access panels <NUM> for replacement, modification, maintenance, upgrade, and so forth.

As set forth above, the on-board system <NUM> of the ride vehicle <NUM> communicates via the network <NUM> with the off-board system <NUM>. The off-board system <NUM>, as set forth above, may include a variety of devices that are generally designed to complement the AR and/or VR graphics generated by the on-board game systems <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an embodiment of the off-board system <NUM> of the modular attraction system <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the off-board system <NUM> may be disposed in proximity to or along the ride path <NUM>. The off-board system <NUM> may include certain features that perform similar roles to those described with respect to the on-board system <NUM>. For example, the off-board system <NUM> may include a network communication device <NUM> (e.g., a modem) and switch <NUM> (e.g., a router) that establish a connection with the network <NUM> and establish a local network between the off-board system components. It should be appreciated that the off-board system <NUM> may include any suitable communication component(s) that enable communication between the off-board system <NUM> and the network <NUM>. The connection between the various components of the off-board system <NUM> may include a wired and/or wireless communication network, such as WLAN, WWAN, and NFC.

As shown, the switch <NUM> is directly connected to an off-board game server <NUM>, one or more off-board game systems <NUM>, and a ride show supervisor (RSS) <NUM>. There may be only one, or a plurality of different off-board game systems <NUM>, as denoted by an asterisk.

The RSS <NUM> may be a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other suitable control device. The RSS <NUM> may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions stored in the memory. The RSS <NUM>, generally, may be configured to coordinate the off-board entertainment experiences using one or more light systems <NUM>, one or more animatronics <NUM>, or other props. In particular, the RSS <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the one or more light systems <NUM> and the one or more animatronics <NUM> to control or regulate their operations. For example, the RSS <NUM> may control intensity, incident angle, on/off states, color, and other effects of the one or more light systems <NUM>. The RSS <NUM> may control movements, on/off states, and other actions (e.g., sound effects, light effects) of the one or more animatronics <NUM> or other props. In some embodiments, the RSS <NUM> may control or regulate the operations of the one or more light systems <NUM> and the one or more animatronics <NUM> based on the AR/VR experiences rendered by the on-board system <NUM>, or in coordination with other elements of the off-board system <NUM>.

The one or more light systems <NUM> may include various lights, such as ceiling lights, lamps, wall lights, exterior lights, and so forth. The one or more animatronics <NUM> may include various robotic devices that emulate certain lifelike movements. Further, while not specifically shown, other props such as automated show effects, may be controlled by the RSS <NUM> in response to signals received via the switch <NUM>, for example in coordination with operations of the on-board system <NUM>.

The one or more off-board game systems <NUM> may have a similar configuration to the on-board game system <NUM> described with respect to <FIG>. For example, the one or more off-board game systems <NUM> may each include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions. The one or more off-board game systems <NUM>, generally, may be configured to provide and coordinate entertainment experiences to the passengers, using the one or more media systems <NUM>. In particular, the one or more off-board game systems <NUM> may transmit audio/video data (e.g., via a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI)) to the media system <NUM>, and the media system <NUM> may present the audio/video data via one or more display devices (e.g., projection display devices, digital display devices) and one or more sound devices (e.g., speakers) disposed along the ride path <NUM>. The one or more off-board game systems <NUM> may coordinate transmission of the audio/video data and/or control operations of the one or more media systems <NUM>, such that the audio/video contents are displayed on different media systems <NUM> in a coordinated/synchronized timing or schedule.

The off-board game server <NUM> may be a specially-programmed server computer, a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other suitable control device. The off-board game server <NUM> may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions stored in the memory. The off-board game server <NUM>, generally, may be configured to coordinate communication of various information between the various components of the off-board system <NUM>, and also between the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM> over the network <NUM>.

In particular, the various information may be routed to the various components of the off-board system <NUM> via the switch <NUM>. The switch <NUM> is generally a router or any suitable networking device that forwards information (e.g., data packets) to destination nodes or computer networks, so as to perform the traffic directing functions on the network. As an example, the off board game server <NUM> may direct information between the RSS <NUM> and the one or more off-board game systems <NUM>, via the switch <NUM>.

In addition, the off-board game server <NUM> may be configured to coordinate or synchronize communication of information depending on the information types and/or priorities, in a similar manner as the on-board game server <NUM>. As such, the off-board game server <NUM> may coordinate or synchronize the communication effectively and ensure communication of important information.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an embodiment of the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM> that may be used in the modular attraction system <NUM>. As shown, the on-board system <NUM> includes the on-board game server <NUM> and the on-board game systems <NUM>. The on-board system <NUM> also includes the VSS <NUM> and the vehicle show effects <NUM>, as well as a vehicle control supervisor (VCS) <NUM>, vehicle controllers/motors <NUM> (e.g., steering controllers; motors), and vehicle sensors <NUM>. The vehicle sensors <NUM> may be an example of the tracking sensors <NUM> described with respect to <FIG>. The on-board system <NUM> may include other features, such as other types of tracking sensors <NUM> and the tracking systems <NUM>, and/or the user interfaces <NUM> of <FIG>, for example.

The VCS <NUM> may be a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other suitable control device. For instance, the VCS <NUM> may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions stored in the memory. The VCS <NUM> may be configured to coordinate various operations and movements of the ride vehicle <NUM> in response to information and/or instructions provided by other components of the on-board system <NUM> and by the off-board system <NUM>. In particular, the VCS <NUM> may receive signals from the vehicle sensors <NUM> (e.g., indicative of a position, orientation, velocity, motion vector, or other parameter of the ride vehicle <NUM>), game information from the on-board server <NUM> (e.g., via a connection point <NUM>), and/or other information related to other ride vehicles <NUM>, off-board show effects <NUM> (e.g., the light systems <NUM>, the animatronics <NUM>). The VCS <NUM> may then send signals to instruct the vehicle controllers/motors <NUM> to control the movement of the ride vehicle <NUM> (e.g., forward and/or rearward movement along the track) based on the received signals and information. In the illustrated embodiments, the VCS <NUM> is also communicatively coupled to the VSS <NUM>, such that information may be exchanged between the VSS <NUM> and the VCS <NUM>. In this way, the VCS <NUM> and the VSS <NUM> may coordinate the vehicle show effects <NUM> and the movement of the ride vehicle <NUM>, for example. As shown, signals from the vehicle sensors <NUM> may also be provided to the on-board game server <NUM>, which may enable the on-board game server <NUM> to coordinate the movement of the ride vehicle <NUM> with other effects or events, such as the game played via the on-board game system <NUM>.

In the illustrated embodiment, the off-board system <NUM> includes the off-board game server <NUM>, the off-board game systems <NUM>, and the media system <NUM>. The off-board system <NUM> also includes the RSS <NUM>, off-board show effects <NUM>, and a ride control supervisor (RCS) <NUM>. The RCS <NUM> may be a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other suitable control device. The RCS <NUM> may include a processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) device, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or some other similar processor configuration) operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium and/or other storage device) to execute instructions stored in the memory. The RCS <NUM> may be configured to coordinate various operations and movements of multiple different ride vehicles within the attraction (e.g., along the ride path <NUM>) in response to information and/or instructions provided by components of the on-board system <NUM> and/or by other components of the off-board system <NUM>, for example.

Various components of the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM> may be connected to one another as shown by a connection point <NUM>, which represents various communication connections, power connections, and so forth. For example, some of the communication connections may be achieved via the switch <NUM>, the network communication device <NUM>, the switch <NUM>, and/or the network communication device <NUM> described herein with respect to <FIG> and <FIG>. The connection point <NUM> may generally include a network and related features that enable any of a variety of components of the modular attraction system <NUM> to communicate with one another (e.g., the RSS <NUM> and the VSS <NUM> may communicate via the connection point <NUM>). While certain connections in <FIG> (and other figures) are illustrated (e.g., via connecting lines that may indicate two-way communication and arrows that may indicate one-way communication) between various components of the modular attraction system <NUM>, it should be appreciated that the components shown and described herein may be connected in any of a variety of ways (e.g., some illustrated connections may be removed and/or some other connections may be added; one-way connections may be two-way connections, and vice versa). Furthermore, while certain components in <FIG> (and other figures) are illustrated, it should be appreciated that the some of the illustrated components may be removed and/or some other components may be added. Processing functions discussed herein may also be divided or distributed among the components in various other ways (e.g., some functions of the VSS <NUM> may be carried out by the on-board game server <NUM>).

It should be noted that the modular attraction system <NUM> includes the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM>, and each may have its own individually distinct functionality. When these functionalities are combined, they may be used to provide gaming effects and other entertainment to provide an overall experience and to enhance the ride experience. Furthermore, within each of the on-board system <NUM> and the off-board system <NUM>, modularity is built in, such that each of the various portions/components of the on-board system <NUM> and of the off-board system <NUM> has its individually distinct functionality. While all of these functionalities are controlled and regulated by the modular attraction system <NUM> in a cooperative and collaborative manner, the individual distinct functionality may be flexibly re-engineered. As such, the engineering (e.g., design, modification, upgrade, maintenance, replacement, etc.) of the overall ride experience may benefit from characteristics of the modular attraction system <NUM>. In particular, the technical effects may include, but are not limited to, flexibility (scalability, upgradeability, replaceability, convenience in maintenance, quick to deploy, etc.), cost effective (e.g., simplified planning and engineering), and predictability (e.g., easily tested and validated designs).

Claim 1:
A ride vehicle (<NUM>) for an amusement park system, the ride vehicle (<NUM>) comprising:
an on-board system (<NUM>) having a plurality of game systems (<NUM>) that are communicatively coupled, wherein each game system of the plurality of game systems (<NUM>) is configured to provide an augmented reality, AR, experience, or a virtual reality, VR, experience, or both, within a game shared between the plurality of game systems (<NUM>), wherein the on-board system (<NUM>) is configured to receive user inputs from passengers of the ride vehicle (<NUM>) and to, based on the user inputs, adjust AR events and/or VR events occurring during the game shared between the plurality of game systems (<NUM>).