Simulator rides are a type of amusement park or fairground ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen. There are many types but they fall into the heading of entertainment unlike the ones used for training. Simulator rides work by showing a film and moving at the same time. This information is fixed and cannot be changed without rewriting the ride's firmware. A film or experience can be made of any subject as they are created manually. A film of any given subject is given to the manufacturer, who records a sequence of movement that corresponds to the film. The footage is then synchronized with the motion of the ride to simulate the sequence of events depicted in the film.

History

Until recently, constructing

simulator A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...

rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

was an expensive,

high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

business. The first simulators were built to train

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

pilots. Long before the days of virtual reality, the view through the cockpit came from remote

video camera A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of oth ...

s which moved on gantries above physical

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

landscapes. These model landscapes were huge, often the size of aircraft

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s. By the mid-1990s, computer

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

graphics replaced most physical models in simulators. Today's flight training simulators, like

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

’s, have virtual landscapes projected on multiple screens giving a 180 degree view. Much simpler simulators, running fixed video synchronised to the movement of the ' cabin', were introduced in funfairs in the same period. They seat about 12 people and require an operator. Doron Precision Systems is a company who specializes in driving simulators based in Binghamton, NY. They were the first manufacturer to introduce the capsule motion simulator, the SR2 in 1977. Other manufacturers such as Thomson (Now Thales Training & Simulation), Intamin, Pulseworks, etc. also came up with their own simulators.

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

originally invented the motion theater with their attraction

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' is an American animated syndicated programming block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on a weekly schedule and was performed in live action. The program ran from 1985 to 1994. Overview The ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

uses a similar plan and opened their Star Tours attraction in 1987. Universal's attraction did not open until 1990. This first ride was soon followed by the

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

-themed Back to the Future: The Ride, which opened in 1991 at Universal Studios Florida and was removed in 2007 to make way for

The Simpsons Ride ''The Simpsons'' Ride is a motion simulator ride located in the Springfield areas of both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood. Based on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', the ride was announced in 2007 as a r ...

Motion Theaters

Passenger

motion simulator A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provi ...

s are used as amusement rides with a seating platform remaining parallel to the ground while being moved in a circular motion along a vertical plane. Larger scale motion theaters include "Air Time" at Carowinds, "Corkscrew Hill" at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and the now closed Akbar's Adventure Tours in

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa and Asia. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park opened on Ju ...

. Motion theaters found in a

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

include the "Yellow Submarine."

Personal simulator rides

More recently, one- to two-person simulator rides have appeared. These run unattended and some types are interactive, like the original

flight training simulators. Unlike the military, however, most civilian simulators are totally passive and have a choice of rides from which the user selects. The most advanced simulators are in totally enclosed capsules giving a much more immersive ride and allowing the person to be fully engaged in the simulation. The more recent two seaters, produced in 2005, have special effects added. These include fans which blast wind on the rider's face as the simulation goes faster, and heaters which heat the cabin when there is a virtual explosion or fire or a similar heat source is displayed on screen. Other effects include vibrations which add to the ride's realism. Due to the exclusivity of this type of simulator ride, there are only a few two seater simulator manufacturers in the world. The first truly low-cost simulator is perhaps the £5k "Kidicoaster," which swings up and down in sync to a video of a roller coaster. It is now practical for amateur enthusiasts to develop their own 'low tech' simulator ride. The motion and effects can be controlled by a micro controller (like a Stamp or an Arduino) and the video played on an ordinary DVD player. The micro controller only has to switch the play button on the player and the video and motion will then stay adequately in synch for the duration of the ride.

4DX

Since first developed in 2009,

4DX 4DX is a 4D film format developed by CJ 4DPlex, a subsidiary of South Korean cinema chain CJ CGV. It allows films to be augmented with various practical effects, including motion-seats, wind, strobe-lights, simulated-snow, and scents. First i ...

movie theaters have been growing in popularity. These theaters show mainstream Hollywood films combined with moving seats and other special effects to enhance the experience of the film.

Installations

Finished Installations

*1977 - Doron SR2 simulator ride (Installed Worldwide). *1977 - Astroliner(Installed Worldwide) *1985 - Tour of the Universe *1987 -

Star Tours Star Tours was a motion simulator attraction at several Disney theme parks, based on the successful ''Star Wars'' film series created by George Lucas. Set in the ''Star Wars'' universe, the attraction sent guests on an excursion trip to Endor, ...

*1989 - Body Wars *1990 - Questor *1990 -

*1991 - Back to the Future: The Ride *1991 - Cinaxe *1992 - Batman Adventure – The Ride *1992 - Wild Arctic *1993 - In Search Of The Obelisk *1994 - The Bermuda Triangle *1994 - New York Skyride *1994 - Paramount Action FX Theater *1994 - Space Shuttle America *1996 - King Arthur's Challenge *1996 - Manhattan Magic - World Trade Center (Top of the World) *1998 - Klingon Encounter at Star Trek: The Experience *1999 - The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man *2000 - Gundam the Ride: A Baoa Qu *2001 - Batman Adventure – The Ride 2 *2001 - Corkscrew Hill *2001 - Soarin' Over California *2001 - StormRider *2002 - MaxFlight - Virtual Rollercoaster *2003 - Mission: SPACE *2003 - Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast *2005 - The Curse of DarKastle *2008 -

*2008 - Fly Me to the Moon *2010 - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey *2010 - Europe in the Air *2011 - Rocket Ship Theatre *2011 - Meteor Attack *2011 - Transformers: The Ride *2011 - Star Tours: The Adventures Continue *2012 - Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem *2014 -

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is an indoor steel roller coaster designed by Universal Creative and built by Intamin at Universal Studios Florida, a theme park located within the Universal Orlando Resort. Similar to dark rides, the ro ...

*2014 - Marvel Experience *2015 - Justice League: Battle for Metropolis *2016 - Iron Man Experience *2017 - Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon *2017 -

Nemo & Friends SeaRider Nemo & Friends SeaRider is a simulator ride at Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort. It is based on the Disney/Pixar film '' Finding Nemo'' and its sequel, ''Finding Dory ''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American computer-animated comedy-dram ...

*2017 - Avatar Flight of Passage *2018 - Battle for Eire *2018 - DreamWorks Theatre *2019 - Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run *2019 - Sky Voyager

External links

* {{Amusement rides Simulation video games