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The future of attractions are always evolving but what
do AI, machine learning and neural networks have to
do with it? Experience designers Holovis are pioneering
developments that not only extend and enhance the
guest experience but that will also become imperative
to safety, park performance and operations.
Holovis uses gesture recognition for Justice League A Call For Heroes at Madame Tussauds attractions in Orlando and Sydney
The desire for personalisation and unique guest experiences that drive ride and park repeatability have been at the top of the requirements list over the last few years," says Peter Cliff, creative director at Holovis.
"The evolution of real-time media and enhanced interactivity techniques have allowed guests to customise their experience, but we’re taking things one step further and achieving true personalisation where guests are in control and the same experience is never repeated twice."
To deliver this, Holovis has developed a proprietary software ecosystem that connects all elements of a themed entertainment space to streamline operations, transform security and safety protocols and provide deeply personalised, intelligent entertainment experiences.
"Our interactive attractions are evolving to become much more intelligent by using advanced tracking technologies including our biometric and AI platforms. We take the techniques currently being developed by our data scientists and software teams for our enterprise and simulation divisions and apply them to create next-generation themed entertainment solutions that are pushing the boundaries," explains Cliff.
New technologies Holovis has developed a suite of software modules that leverage advanced computer vision and tracking technologies. These are fronted through the provision of guest experiences with personalised content that enhances their journey but also produce powerful data analytic visualisations and insights into park dynamics and operations on the backend.
The biometric tracking works by picking up attributes of the guest from their physical appearance and linking them to a user profile. The user is completely anonymised during this process, no data about an individual is saved and nothing can be reverse-engineered that could compromise personal information.
"We've prioritised the development of several different methods of tracking guests around a space that remove the complete reliance of a second screen, such as a mobile phone, digital signage networks or virtual reality," says Cliff.
"Users are identified through a powerful attribute recognition engine, which drives guest experience through personalised outputs. These include gesture recognition, where the power is in the hands of guests to alter their surroundings without needing any other devices or technologies, just natural human interaction.
“They could, for example, cast a spell, make lights come on inside a building or make water come out of a fountain. When combined with the facial recognition, a user can’t perform that action until they have unlocked that power, so someone else can copy the gesture but it may not work for them if they haven’t also unlocked the feature. This adds to the illusion of magic.
"The great thing about attribute recognition is it removes barriers to entry. Costly props enhanced with RFID are no longer the only way to take part.
"It's the object recognition module that allows guests to bring props into the narrative. Machine learning is used to identify common objects or those that can be purchased in gift shops and when detected incorporate them into the user’s specific story. These can be standard items that don’t need to be enhanced with any technological systems."
These tools can be utilised across a whole park or at a family entertainment centre, just in one themed zone, as part of the in-ride experience to personalise media scenes and in passive areas such as queue lines to elevate boredom.
Behind the scenes, the guest experience is a user-friendly face for what is actually a system that will become critical to park security and operations.
Spacial awareness This real-time tracking intelligence of the way in which people are moving around the space combines with simulation data to deliver extensive insights into operations and security. This gives an accurate picture of proceedings and operators can choose to act on these for reasons such as improving the flow of guests, alleviating congestion and emergency situations.
When combined with the machine learning, analysis of the way guests typically move around a space, this identifies how crowds would move, should disasters occur and how emergency response teams should function. When a new ride is added, a simulation can be run to see in real-time how this will affect the way in which people are moving around the space.
"Just as Machine Learning and AI are changing other industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, finance and retail, they are also set to have just as great an impact on themed entertainment," says Cliff. "This goes much further than simply contributing to guest entertainment – a whole ecosystem can be designed around these tracking technologies that keep guests safe by delivering extensive insights into park operations and security. We're very excited to see these transformations occur."
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
People profile: Tom Hennes
Tom Hennes discusses how he has transformed the Empire State Building's visitor experience
People profile: Dimitrios Pandermalis
The Acropolis Museum has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Its president, Dimitrios Pandermalis, talks about his plans to take the museum forward in the next decade and beyond
People profile: Gus Antorcha
SeaWorld's new CEO Gus Antorcha on the company's new direction as it starts to recover following several years of turmoil
Museums: A museum in motion
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image
is undergoing a AUS$40m renewal. CEO
Katrina Sedgwick talks about the plans
Tourism: The dark side
With locations like Chernobyl increasing
in popularity, Kath Hudson looks at the
dark side of the global tourism sector
Promotional feature: Whitewater
WhiteWater thinks outside the box to create memorable,
immersive experiences that go beyond the thrill
Rides: Monsters, myths and motorbikes
We take a look at some of the biggest ride
openings for visitor attractions worldwide,
including Universal’s new Hagrid coaster
Promotional feature: OurPeople
Home to the world-revered peppa pig world and welcoming more than one
million visitors every year, paultons park was voted Tripadvisor’s number
one UK amusement park for the fourth year running in 2019
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The future of attractions are always evolving but what
do AI, machine learning and neural networks have to
do with it? Experience designers Holovis are pioneering
developments that not only extend and enhance the
guest experience but that will also become imperative
to safety, park performance and operations.
Holovis uses gesture recognition for Justice League A Call For Heroes at Madame Tussauds attractions in Orlando and Sydney
The desire for personalisation and unique guest experiences that drive ride and park repeatability have been at the top of the requirements list over the last few years," says Peter Cliff, creative director at Holovis.
"The evolution of real-time media and enhanced interactivity techniques have allowed guests to customise their experience, but we’re taking things one step further and achieving true personalisation where guests are in control and the same experience is never repeated twice."
To deliver this, Holovis has developed a proprietary software ecosystem that connects all elements of a themed entertainment space to streamline operations, transform security and safety protocols and provide deeply personalised, intelligent entertainment experiences.
"Our interactive attractions are evolving to become much more intelligent by using advanced tracking technologies including our biometric and AI platforms. We take the techniques currently being developed by our data scientists and software teams for our enterprise and simulation divisions and apply them to create next-generation themed entertainment solutions that are pushing the boundaries," explains Cliff.
New technologies Holovis has developed a suite of software modules that leverage advanced computer vision and tracking technologies. These are fronted through the provision of guest experiences with personalised content that enhances their journey but also produce powerful data analytic visualisations and insights into park dynamics and operations on the backend.
The biometric tracking works by picking up attributes of the guest from their physical appearance and linking them to a user profile. The user is completely anonymised during this process, no data about an individual is saved and nothing can be reverse-engineered that could compromise personal information.
"We've prioritised the development of several different methods of tracking guests around a space that remove the complete reliance of a second screen, such as a mobile phone, digital signage networks or virtual reality," says Cliff.
"Users are identified through a powerful attribute recognition engine, which drives guest experience through personalised outputs. These include gesture recognition, where the power is in the hands of guests to alter their surroundings without needing any other devices or technologies, just natural human interaction.
“They could, for example, cast a spell, make lights come on inside a building or make water come out of a fountain. When combined with the facial recognition, a user can’t perform that action until they have unlocked that power, so someone else can copy the gesture but it may not work for them if they haven’t also unlocked the feature. This adds to the illusion of magic.
"The great thing about attribute recognition is it removes barriers to entry. Costly props enhanced with RFID are no longer the only way to take part.
"It's the object recognition module that allows guests to bring props into the narrative. Machine learning is used to identify common objects or those that can be purchased in gift shops and when detected incorporate them into the user’s specific story. These can be standard items that don’t need to be enhanced with any technological systems."
These tools can be utilised across a whole park or at a family entertainment centre, just in one themed zone, as part of the in-ride experience to personalise media scenes and in passive areas such as queue lines to elevate boredom.
Behind the scenes, the guest experience is a user-friendly face for what is actually a system that will become critical to park security and operations.
Spacial awareness This real-time tracking intelligence of the way in which people are moving around the space combines with simulation data to deliver extensive insights into operations and security. This gives an accurate picture of proceedings and operators can choose to act on these for reasons such as improving the flow of guests, alleviating congestion and emergency situations.
When combined with the machine learning, analysis of the way guests typically move around a space, this identifies how crowds would move, should disasters occur and how emergency response teams should function. When a new ride is added, a simulation can be run to see in real-time how this will affect the way in which people are moving around the space.
"Just as Machine Learning and AI are changing other industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, finance and retail, they are also set to have just as great an impact on themed entertainment," says Cliff. "This goes much further than simply contributing to guest entertainment – a whole ecosystem can be designed around these tracking technologies that keep guests safe by delivering extensive insights into park operations and security. We're very excited to see these transformations occur."
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
People profile: Tom Hennes
Tom Hennes discusses how he has transformed the Empire State Building's visitor experience
People profile: Dimitrios Pandermalis
The Acropolis Museum has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Its president, Dimitrios Pandermalis, talks about his plans to take the museum forward in the next decade and beyond
People profile: Gus Antorcha
SeaWorld's new CEO Gus Antorcha on the company's new direction as it starts to recover following several years of turmoil
Museums: A museum in motion
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image
is undergoing a AUS$40m renewal. CEO
Katrina Sedgwick talks about the plans
Tourism: The dark side
With locations like Chernobyl increasing
in popularity, Kath Hudson looks at the
dark side of the global tourism sector
Promotional feature: Whitewater
WhiteWater thinks outside the box to create memorable,
immersive experiences that go beyond the thrill
Rides: Monsters, myths and motorbikes
We take a look at some of the biggest ride
openings for visitor attractions worldwide,
including Universal’s new Hagrid coaster
Promotional feature: OurPeople
Home to the world-revered peppa pig world and welcoming more than one
million visitors every year, paultons park was voted Tripadvisor’s number
one UK amusement park for the fourth year running in 2019
Global Wellness Day (GWD) will mark its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth, on the northeast coast of Saint Barthélemy in the French
West Indies, is offering a programme of ocean-inspired yoga classes between 8-14 June to
celebrate Global Wellness Day (GWD).
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi, in Malaysia, has revealed a schedule for Global Wellness Day
(GWD) that includes guided rainforest walks, mindful movement and guided coastal meditation
experiences.
Longevitix, a clinical platform for preventive and longevity medicine, has launched its AI-
powered intelligence system to help physicians deliver continuous, personalised longevity-
focused care at scale.
Atmantan Wellness Centre, an integrative wellness destination in Mulshi, near Pune in India, is
expanding its portfolio by adding a new centre in Hyderabad that will launch between 2028 and
2029.
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Barr + Wray Ltd Barr + Wray has more than 60 years’ experience in the design and delivery of world-class spa and wel [more...]
