KUKA Robotics Corporation Introduces RoboSim 4-D Simulator at INNOVENTIONS

[mousetrapper]

Exciting! Always great to be able to look forward to something new AND cool...

We'll check it out in about a month!

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

Considering this is the same technology that they're going to be using for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction at IOA, I think it almost seems like Disney just threw this together so they could say they had used the technology first.

[Mushu11756]

I saw video's of the rides grand opening and looked pretty cool!

[mudpuppysmom]

We just came back on Tuesday night and we rode it on Tuesday during the day.

People between 48 and 54" cannot build any of the models to go upside down.

My son is 7 and he needed an adult to go with him, so not sure what the age restriction is....but he is also over 48".

You go into a briefing room and they do a little speil and tell you what you are going to be doing. Then you go to a desk type kiosk and build your "thing". A jet plane, a bobsled or a roller coaster are the options. You have to have speed in correlation with what you ask the thing to do or it will not let you do the stunt you chose. My son chose the jet plane and we did some up and down moves and a spiral -- all at like 180 mph.

Once you have built your prototype you wait in line (again) and before you get in the simulator your belongings go into a locker (they give you the key). Once you get into the seat it's pretty tight for some adults I'd imagine -- I'm not that overweight and it was a squeeze for me -- they pull down a screen and you can see where/what you are doing as well as the person you are riding with (in the top right hand corner) -- so you can see what their reaction is too (my son was too short to see his face, all I saw was the top of his hair). The ride lasts approximately 45-60 seconds, but it is fun!

There are no moves that throw YOU upside down, it just feels like it -- you might be rocked near being upside down, but at no time did I see anyone being thrown upside down (just a hard flip type move, but not all the way). You are moved right and left and up and down.

We waited about 20 minutes I'd say, but the line was much longer this past weekend as my cousins kids were over from Daytona and wanted to try it, but the wait was approximately 30 minutes and they did not want to wait.

Was it worth the wait -- my son thought so, but for what it is, I'm not sure I'd wait 25 minutes to do it again.

On a final note, there are four simulator arms that hold two people each, so it holds 8 people at a time -- you can see where it might take a while to get through the line -- however when you are constucting your mobile, they only give you so much time to complete construction, otherwise I'm sure you would be there for quite a while deciding what you want it to do.

I will say, it was fun though!

[CAS]

woo hoo.....another simulator. Disney quest, star tours, body wars, mission space, take 50

I don't know why, but I think I'm the only one I've ever known who doesn't "get" the simulator. The video, wind, sound, and movement will always feel artificial to me so after riding once I never do it again. I don't know if it's because I'm a pilot or what...simulators just don't do anything for me (except when the cheap ones are badly mismatched and make me queasy.

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

woo hoo.....another simulator. Disney quest, star tours, body wars, mission space, take 50

I don't know why, but I think I'm the only one I've ever known who doesn't "get" the simulator. The video, wind, sound, and movement will always feel artificial to me so after riding once I never do it again. I don't know if it's because I'm a pilot or what...simulators just don't do anything for me (except when the cheap ones are badly mismatched and make me queasy.

The flight simulator technology on Star Tours/Body Wars is very old. Mission Space is not so much a simulator as it is a centrifuge with a moving image to keep your mind off the fact that you're being spun around at about 40 mph.

This technology is actually very new and unique. Yes, you're looking at a screen, but can you honestly tell me how exciting the ride would be if the robot was still rooted in place and you had nothing to do but see yourself be thrown around? I think that'd be more disorienting than the simulator portion of it.

[CAS]

Regardless if they use motorized theater seats, a centrifuge or a robotic arm, they're still all considered simulators since they're "simulating" real motion.

But to answer your question, no. It would actually be less disorienting not watching a screen since your movement and vision would both be matched reality.

[GrumpyFan]

We rode this for the first time last week, and honestly, it's not very impressive. The design phase takes a little while to get the hang of, but it's not too hard. The ride itself is okay, but the on-screen ride graphics aren't really that impressive. I was expecting something much better than Cyberspace Mountain at Disney Quest, considering the number of years since that was built. But, in my opinion, the graphics aren't really any better.

If the ride has a short wait, give it a try, but if it's more than 20 minutes, I would pass it by.

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

We rode this for the first time last week, and honestly, it's not very impressive. The design phase takes a little while to get the hang of, but it's not too hard. The ride itself is okay, but the on-screen ride graphics aren't really that impressive. I was expecting something much better than Cyberspace Mountain at Disney Quest, considering the number of years since that was built. But, in my opinion, the graphics aren't really any better.

If the ride has a short wait, give it a try, but if it's more than 20 minutes, I would pass it by.

That's probably because it's just a bare-bones render on the fly. I'd imagine something stunningly realistic would take much longer to render and translate to the robot than a theme park attraction would allow.

[mjaclyn]

I'm not all that excited about this either. I've never liked the 'simulator' rides at Disney so I'm not sure why this one would be any different. Besides the nausea, I don't particularly like being in super-close quarters (like Mission:Space), so I think I'm going to pass on this one...

[chrisb26]

I did this for the first time today and I liked it. It was neat although I didn't find it all that different from Cyber Space Mtn. I also got very frustrated because after you create your ride if it has loops there is some option where you can chicken out and decide you don't want any well I put down one of the pices you use to create your ride the knob and it chose to remove all my loops and it wouldn't let me get them back. I was able to get a default ride with loops but it wasn't what I created and it was pretty frustrating.

[Ransom]

DW and I rode Sum of All Thrills on Oct 19th. It was a lot of fun, and we found it to be better than Cyberspace Mountain.

The only thing is, there's not enough time for designing your ride. I understand why, but it would be nice if they could give you more time.

[ayeckley]

Regardless if they use motorized theater seats, a centrifuge or a robotic arm, they're still all considered simulators since they're "simulating" real motion.

WDI needs to start working on "actualators" instead of "simulators".

[Jll3Sonex]

sounds cool...thou I do wonder what the lines will be like.

Long.

And slow.

Gonna take a while to clean up the protein spills between riders...



Seriously, I'd try it in a heartbeat. But there's so much to see and do, so little time...

[GrumpyFan]

Long.

And slow.

Gonna take a while to clean up the protein spills between riders...

Actually it moves a lot faster than I would've thought. We were there last week and there were about 15-20 people ahead of us when we got in line, and it took us less than 15 minutes to get thru it. You're only given a short amount of time to design and test your ride, then you go to the simulators.

As for the protein spills, I don't think they'll have to many because it's not really that intense, IMO.

[CAS]

WDI needs to start working on "actualators" instead of "simulators".

Here Here!!!