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View Full Version : Raytheon to bring Robotic Arm Ride Simulator to Innoventions


GrumpyFan
04-16-2009, 08:00 PM
According to Attractions magazine:

As revealed to Disney cast members via their online web portal called the Hub, Walt Disney Imagineering is working with Raytheon to develop a new motion simulator attraction for Innoventions at Epcot.

The attraction is called “The Sum of All Thrills” and will allow guests to design a roller coaster, jet plane, or bobsled ride using real-life physics and engineering and then ride it within a robot arm-based simulator.

The exhibit is being described as feeling “like a high-tech laboratory” and is said to try to emphasize to guests “that math can be cool.”

In customizing the ride as part of the experience, guests will use a multi-touch surface table which can sense human interactions and objects placed upon it. Similar technology is currently being used inside the House of Innoventions at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

Once the ride is customized it can be ridden by guests in a simulator on the end of a KUKA robotic arm, created by German-based KUKA Roboter GmbH. The robot arm is similar to the one currently being used to control the menacing angler fish in Epcot’s The Seas with Nemo and Friends attraction, though it is the first time a robotic ar is being used as the ride system in a Disney theme park.

It is expected that the Disney version of this ride will be a fully enclosed simulator, similar to Cyber Space Mountain in DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney, but with many more possible degrees of movement as a result of being attached to the KUKA arm.

In addition to the experience at Epcot, Raytheon will be supporting another 2009 initiative at the Walt Disney World Resort - the 2009 Raytheon MathCounts National Competition. Taking place May 7 to 10, 2009, at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, the competition is the culmination of an enrichment and coaching program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement in every U.S. state and territory. Raytheon is the title sponsor of the MathCounts National Competition for the next three years, through 2011.

The new Innoventions exhibit is scheduled to open in late 2009.
Melanie
04-16-2009, 08:27 PM
Thanks for the updated info. :thumbsup: This was originally announced back in February (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=149967&highlight=thrills).
brownie
04-17-2009, 09:24 AM
Sounds cool. I may have to give Innoventions more attention on our next trip than we have in the past.
lockedoutlogic
04-17-2009, 09:33 AM
Simulator rides at Disney parks have been pretty pathetic over the years....

...hopefully this will be a decent addition though....I have a little faith every now and then:mickey:
Scar
04-17-2009, 10:32 AM
How many arms will there be? How many people per ride? And how long will the ride be. Unless there are many, and the ride is short, I have a feeling the wait time will be ... forever.
big blue and hairy
04-17-2009, 11:00 AM
This sounds...

1. Pretty cool
2. Something to make me :sick:


Simulator rides at Disney parks have been pretty pathetic over the years....

...hopefully this will be a decent addition though....I have a little faith every now and then:mickey: But not very often....:funny:

:sulley:
GrumpyFan
04-17-2009, 12:35 PM
How many arms will there be? How many people per ride? And how long will the ride be. Unless there are many, and the ride is short, I have a feeling the wait time will be ... forever.

All that remains to be seen. I wondered the same things though. This is potentially an attraction that will pull a lot of people in, especially thrill seekers. All the demos I've seen of these things only show 2 seats. So, I'll be interested to see how they do this.
GothMickey
04-20-2009, 12:16 PM
I thought KUKA had an exclusive contract with Universal for a robotic arm ride technology, especially since Harry Potter is supposed to be robotic arm technology.
GrumpyFan
04-20-2009, 12:24 PM
I thought KUKA had an exclusive contract with Universal for a robotic arm ride technology, especially since Harry Potter is supposed to be robotic arm technology.

A lot of us thought this too. But, the description of this sounds almost like a modified version of the KUKA robocoaster. Usually, these exclusive contracts are for specific technologies, so while someone can't copy it, they could do something different using the same or similar technology. So, it appear they have found a way around Uni's supposed exclusivity.

Of course, this won't stop a potential lawsuit. They're lawyers could file an injunction to try and stop it. If that happens, I would look for it in a few months.
GothMickey
04-20-2009, 04:27 PM
A lot of us thought this too. But, the description of this sounds almost like a modified version of the KUKA robocoaster. Usually, these exclusive contracts are for specific technologies, so while someone can't copy it, they could do something different using the same or similar technology. So, it appear they have found a way around Uni's supposed exclusivity.

Of course, this won't stop a potential lawsuit. They're lawyers could file an injunction to try and stop it. If that happens, I would look for it in a few months.

Google will be my friend on this one. I will be checking to see if Universal sues.
MidnTPK
04-20-2009, 04:59 PM
I thought KUKA had an exclusive contract with Universal for a robotic arm ride technology, especially since Harry Potter is supposed to be robotic arm technology.

Considering Legolands around the world have Kuka robo rides running TODAY, I think this is an urban myth that has perpetuated itself. Google "legoland knights tournament" to see the attraction.
GrumpyFan
04-20-2009, 05:17 PM
KUKA makes multiple types of robotic equipment. Some of this equipment/technology is being used for various theme park attractions. I would imagine the deal/agreement with Universal is for a specific technology, and the attraction that Raytheon and Disney are building is using technology that is different than what is being used at Universal.
BluewaterBrad
04-20-2009, 05:48 PM
Sounds awesome! EPCOT rules!:mickey:
Granny Jill A
05-19-2009, 03:01 PM
I think it would be interesting to have a demo robo ride available. I've seen then in action on the Science channel, and they hold two people at the end of the arm. Frankly, it looks a little boring after the first few passes. I prefer the real deal - a coaster - like Expedition Everest.
tomatoe pie
05-26-2009, 11:38 AM
isn't that the same type ride that exists in disney quest at dtd? :confused: i rode that one with my grandson after he designed the roller-coaster ride. :sick:it is just a square box that you get in but it duplicates the ride designed on the computer before you get in. i can imagine that some of the rides could be fun as long as you don't get too carried away with the computer design.;)
GrumpyFan
05-26-2009, 03:15 PM
isn't that the same type ride that exists in disney quest at dtd? :confused: i rode that one with my grandson after he designed the roller-coaster ride. :sick:it is just a square box that you get in but it duplicates the ride designed on the computer before you get in. i can imagine that some of the rides could be fun as long as you don't get too carried away with the computer design.;)

Probably similar in some fashion, but not exact. If you want to see current rides by Kuka, just search Youtube for "Kuka Robocoaster". However, it should be noted that it's not presently known if this is exactly what is going in to Innoventions or not.