Patent ID: 8517788

Claim:
A method for operating and controlling a driven output device provided in an articulated character head, mobile prop, puppet, or other object worn or carried by a live actor or performer, comprising: providing a control system wearable by the performer, the control system including at least one driver for the output device, a show control module, a wireless transceiver, memory, and power source; storing a set of commands for the output device in the memory; receiving a synchronization signal with the wireless receiver from a wayside controller remote from the performer-worn control system; and operating the control module to process the show control signal, to retrieve the set of commands from the control system memory, and to signal the driver to drive the output device based on the set of commands, wherein the show control signal comprises motion control data from the wayside controller, wherein the show control signals include timing codes, wherein the signals to operate the driver are synchronized in time using the timing codes, and wherein the wayside control device freewheels at a predetermined or preset frame rate when upstream time codes are unavailable.