Disney’s research and development arm has revealed a new mixed reality technology concept – a bench where people can see, hear and interact with virtual characters in the real world.

The prototype uses depth sensors from a Microsoft Kinect and an RGB camera to render an image of the bench and the users on it. This rendering is then displayed as a mirror image on an opposite screen so the user can see the virtual characters and interact with them in real time.

The experience is a simple ‘walk up and play’, requiring no special technology on the part of the user with no set-up time.

“This platform creates a multi-sensory immersive experience in which a group can interact directly with an animated character,” explains Moshe Mahler, principal digital artist at Disney Research. “Our mantra for this project was that you would hear a character coming, see them enter the space, and feel them sit next to you.”

To further enhance the experience, the bench features haptic technology corresponding with the movements of the virtual character, giving the person sitting on the bench the sense that a physical presence with weight and impact is sharing the bench with them.

“The bench itself plays a critical role,” Mahler says. “Not only does it contain haptic actuators, but it constrains several issues for us in an elegant way. We know the location and the number of participants, and can infer their gaze. It creates a stage with a foreground and a background, with the seated participants in the middle ground. It even serves as a controller; the mixed reality experience doesn’t begin until someone sits down and different formations of people seated create different types of experiences.”

One demonstration of the technology shows a small cartoon elephant jumping up onto the bench. It then proceeds to hand the user a golden orb, which they can take from the virtual character.

The Magic Bench is capable of offering group orientated experiences, with multiple persons able to enjoy the experience at the same time.

attractions-kit keyword: DISNEY

Triotech has partnered with US broadcasting company AMC to create a new attraction at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fear the Walking Dead Survival is billed as a “unique, multi-sensory experience” and is set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse.

The attraction is inspired by AMC’s hit TV series Fear the Walking Dead. It combines a thrill ride, escape room and maze, and includes interactive gaming elements. It also features elaborate sets, immersive audio and video and motion simulator technology.

On entering the experience guests find themselves inside a temporary military facility amid rumours of a zombie apocalypse. Once inside, guests will have to make their way through a number of different zones and experiences in the facility, whilst defending their lives from a horde of the infected.

Ernest Yale, president and CEO of Triotech, told Attractions Management: “Triotech’s goal was to bring the concept of a walkthrough attraction and augment it to make it into a futuristic, immersive and interactive attraction that will operate year-round.We feel the IP has very strong appeal and is a perfect demographic match for our location.”

attractions-kit keyword: TRIOTECH

Waterslide manufacturer Polin Waterparks will create an indoor waterpark next to a church spire that was built in the Middle Ages, in Coventry, UK. The spire originally formed part of a larger cruciform church that was built in the 1200s, and destroyed with the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1600s.

The Coventry City Centre Leisure Park is set to open in 2018/2019 and will feature an indoor waterpark, a 25-metre swimming pool, a gym, a climbing wall, squash courts, a dance studio, a day spa and administrative areas.

Bilge Pakis, design manager at Polin Waterparks, says of the project: “It is a game-changer in its distinctive design, which is required to fit the facility into a very tight footprint on a site where Franciscan monks originally constructed a cruciform church in the early 1200s.”

Pakis adds: “Over the years, the site’s space became smaller and smaller as history has left its mark.”

The waterpark will feature a range of Polin slides that have been specially adapted to suit the dimensions of the spire. All rides will have reduced heights, with the Space Hole measuring less than 15 metres (48 feet) high and the other slides measuring 11.5 metres (38 feet) tall. The rides, excluding the Space Hole, will also feature dry out exits without swimming pools.

The rides include the Tunnel Bodyslide, the Sphere-Space Shuttle, the Space Hole the Mini Tsunami, the Navigatour and the Looping Rocket.

Polin is collaborating with FaulknerBrowns Architects, the Buckingham Group and consultant Neuman Aqua on the project.

attractions-kit keyword: POLIN

US experience design firm BRC Imagination Arts has created the Say it Loud story booths for the new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Power of Rock Experience.

Following the Power Rock immersive show, also designed by BRC Imagination Arts, guests enter the Say it Loud zone and are encouraged by Rock Hall inductees, including Alice Cooper, Smokey Robinson and Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes, to tell their very own rock and roll stories.

Christian Lachel, vice president and executive creative director at BRC Imagination Arts, says: “Say It Loud gives fans a chance to have a virtual conversation with a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The technology our team combined and crafted provides a meaningful engagement moment for visitors and gives them a way to share their rock story with others. This is what audiences are craving, the ability to have two-way conversations and add their voice to the narrative.”

Guests scan their wristbands on entry into one of the four booths. They are greeted by name and select a Hall of Fame inductee to “meet”. When the artist finishes telling a story, they invite the guest to choose from a list of questions and share their own rock and roll tale.

Visitors get to star in a 30-second “interview”, with the video instantly emailed to them so they can share their Say it Loud experience on social media.

attractions-kit keyword: BRC IMAGINATION ARTS

HEX Digital has created a new app, England’s Historic Cities (EHC), in collaboration with a dozen of the UK’s most important heritage cities.

Funded by the Discover England Fund, a £40m ($52.7m, €44.7m) investment in English tourism made by the British government in 2015, the app tells the stories of some of the UK’s most fascinating heritage sites, and gives users access to exclusive content and never-seen-before insights into well-known landmarks.

Trigger points are stationed at various points across these landmarks. Users simply scan the triggers with their phones to access content, including augmented reality displays, 3D reconstructions and 360-degree panoramas, to enhance their experience.

Nicola Said, commercial director at Marketing Cheshire, who project-managed the EHC app, says: “This is one of the most exciting projects I have worked on. It is a true marriage of old and new, and a completely innovative way to inspire an increasingly digital world to take a step back into the past.”

The app also allows users to access audio content including stories told by historical figures including William Shakespeare, Countess Ela of Salisbury and the Venerable Bede.

The app will be available at 12 locations: Carlisle, Durham, Lancaster, York, Chester, Lincoln, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Cambridge, Greenwich, Bath and Salisbury.

Said says: “I cannot wait to see the app in action and watch people from all around the world take pleasure in England’s glorious, captivating history. It will enable all the cities in question to be able to reach new audiences and showcase the iconic cultural heritage we have to offer.”

attractions-kit keyword: HEX DIGITAL