Holovis introduce Rideable Gaming Robots at Asian Attractions Expo 2017

Theme park executives were the first to ride a gaming robot and explore a specially designed virtual world created especially for Asian Attractions Expo which took place in Singapore last week.

This new kind of attraction has been conceived by experiential designers Holovis who has envisioned the world of AAE 2133, enabling guests to take a flying taxi ride around Singapore and make the journey from convention centre to a hotel. However it’s rush hour and you’re in a hurry, so some surprise twists and turns lie in wait.

Visitors were able to ride the two-seat, four axis robot arm wearing a VR headset that wraps them in immersive story-telling with spatial audio. The combination of dynamic motion perfectly synchronised with purpose designed AV creates an intense, thrilling experience. With the media built in real-time, the setup is uniquely configurable, allowing other exciting elements to be designed-in such as switchable, tailored media, gesture based interactivity, rider guided control, even warring arena robots! Holovis call this R3ex – Rideable Realtime Robot Experiences.

Stuart Hetherington, CEO, Holovis explains:

“Theme Park guests want new kinds of out-of-home experiences that stretch and test their senses like never before. That’s why we have created R3ex, which is a new type of attraction where the dramatic impact of robotics has been integrated and appropriately layered with other technologies, all working with specially designed real-time media. That means effective deployment of VR today, AR tomorrow, and full holographic arrays in the future, on a robot. Our real-time game engine software linked to specifically written R3ex middle-ware seamlessly integrates all aspects of the experience, allowing hardware to be upgraded as new capabilities and price points emerge. Staying ahead of guest expectations whilst delivering system longevity and value for money is what R3ex is all about.

“Everything Holovis currently has under development includes personalisation capabilities. R3ex future releases will include rider agency, allowing guests full control of the robot in a safe and complaint way, without losing any of the attraction’s kinetic excitement. We also have a four seat version in development and other ground-breaking innovations to include with R3ex, creating a completely new kind of extended experience”.