Remember back in 1991 how Universal changed the world with Back to the Future: The Ride? The new ride (at the time…it’s no longer open) featured the most advanced and sophisticated ride system ever seen for a motion simulator. Instead of being enclosed in a large, moving box, you were in your own car, which was open on the top and front, and really put you into the action. Around you was a giant, five-story tall OMNIMAX screen with projectors in many areas, all of which projected the images that made it look like you were in the future, in the ice age, and in the time when dinosaurs walked the earth. It was stunning, and even up to the ride’s closure, I still heard people saying how amazing it was.
Then, in the late 90s, Universal earned the technology that took it one step further, by creating a track ride with a motion simulator element. This ride became known as The Adventures of Spider-Man, still to this day recognized as the most technologically advanced theme park attraction. The ride took you through one of Universal’s newly erected buildings in the new Islands of Adventure park, in ride vehicles that had the Back to the Future technology smacked right into it. Throughout the track, you would see large screens that projected 3D images, which allowed Universal to go even further with it—create scenery that blended right in with the 3D images—similar to what was seen in the Terminator 2: 3D attraction. Universal created a monster with Spiderman’s technology, and they’re about to do it again.
You see, Universal has just been granted 10-year exclusivity to the new Kuka technology. What is the kuka, you may ask? The Kuka is this giant robotic arm, similar to the robots they use to build cars, that can really give you a wicked experience. We’ll start with two examples of how the kuka is used. For the first example, hold your arm in the upward position, clench your fist, and flex. Now take your other arm, and make it the “track.” Now, take your flexed arm and move it around the “track,” pivoting and jerking your wrist around. That’s the kuka. It’s basically a REALLY strong motion simulator on a track. Now, for the second example, please watch this video. This is a video of the Fast and the Furious: eXtreme Close Up attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood—not exactly a great attraction, but, it shows the point:
If you look as the tram tour is pulling away from the dancing cars, you can see the Kuka arm in its entirety, and it looks pretty amazing, right? Take a look at this other picture of what the kuka would be like on a rollercoaster. I found this image on JimHillMedia.com:
Pretty cool, right? Now, in that picture, there are just four seats on the arm, but you could theoretically do so much more. What would Universal use this for, anyway? There are VERY strong rumors going around, as I indicated in last night’s Splatdown, that Universal Orlando has secured the rights to use the Harry Potter franchise in its theme parks. More specifically, the rumors state that the entire Lost Continent island at Islands of Adventure will be completely rethemed to Harry Potter, and will include this huge new attraction called the Robocoaster. What could they do with this? Certainly, they won’t be creating four passenger broomsticks. That would be just plain stupid. But, could they be willing to create an 8-passenger Flying Anglia and have the car take you through the Harry Potter story? I guess time will tell, but that seems to make the most sense to me.
So, with Universal getting the Kuka and Harry Potter, what will Disney do about that? They originally tried to score Harry Potter, possibly to put it in its Disney-MGM Studios theme park. But they couldn’t win. Nor could they win with the Kuka. It should be noted (and I wouldn’t know this without JimHillMedia.com…the guy is a saint) that Disney did manage to get a few Kuka Arms before they became exclusive to Universal—you can see a really good example in The Seas with Nemo and Friends. If you’ve ridden it, perhaps you’ve seen the Angler fish that goes after Marlin and Dory? That was possibly one of the greatest ride effects I’ve ever seen…and it was created with kuka. The things they can do with Kuka are amazing.
Aside from theme park rides, I guess it would be possible to create some of the most detailed animatronics ever seen with the Kuka arms as well. I guess time will tell, but, in my opinion, this is the future of the dark ride world. I can’t wait to start seeing some results.
Filed under: Harry Potter, Theme Parks, Universal Orlando | 1 Comment
Blog Stats
One Response to “Introducing Kuka: The Future of Theme Parks”