German amusement ride manufacturer Huss Park Attractions GmbH has developed a high performance virtual reality (VR) system to add new optional ride experiences to its attractions.
Created for use on non-coaster attractions, the first tests of the system took place recently during an event with special guests at Djurs Sommerland on the park’s HUSS® Viking Ship attraction.
During the event the riders wore specially designed VR ‘glasses’ and were immersed into a completely different virtual environment which synchronised to the familiar ride program of the attraction.
With VR technology, all the motions of the ride are translated into the virtual world in real time to provide passengers with an exciting experience and to place them into new and fascinating environments.
The system can be applied to almost any existing ride and a wide variety of content, suitable to the ride movement and/or theming. It is possible to create many different experiences on the same attraction along any theme.
High performance, real-time computer graphics allow the integration of interactive elements while both small and large attractions can be used to create equally effective VR experiences.
The retrofitting of existing rides is also possible.
During testing at Djurs Sommerland, guests were placed right in the middle of the action in a series of virtual scenes, including stormy seas with mythical creatures, as well as swinging through the urban landscape of Metropolis and above the skyscrapers around them in what feels like an oversized giant swing.
All the scenes were carefully synchronised with the normal swinging movement of the attraction, creating a totally immersive and very realistic experience.
Huss Park Attractions CEO Mirko J. Schulze said: “The system adds a whole new dimension to rides and truly immerses passengers in another experience, outside the real world.
"With a wide range of visual content available, we will be able to place guests into all kinds of scenarios and on a range of attractions, so we are very much looking forward to moving ahead with this technology and creating some great new experiences.”
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