India Sonoma

What makes a theme park experience meaningful is whether it means something to you.
Not only narratively, musically, visually, emotionally, but physically. Tactilely. Powerful experiences require powerful sensation.

TacTILE uses low-frequency vibration for floor-based sensation in theme parks. Whether it’s the rumble of a spaceship engine, the earth-shaking footsteps of a dinosaur, or the power of a supernatural force, TacTILE makes the magic real.

The Design Process

TacTILE is, by far, the most ambitious solo project I have ever taken on. I cannot tell you how many sleepless nights were spent furiously scribbling notes as I solved its many engineering and design challenges.

At that time, nobody in the world of theme park design knew who I was or what I was doing. But I didn’t care. I believed in the project, and I knew I had what it took to pull it off.

The project began with my love of projection in theme park attractions. I wanted to know how to get more out of the projection effects that blew my mind the most. So, I did a deep-dive into the (many, many, many) patents that credit WDI’s Daniel Joseph and studied them:

Now, the most keen of Imagineering fans will know exactly what this patent was used for. It’s the projection/prop effect used in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance when Kylo Ren, lightsaber ignited, chases after guests.

But it’s not the only projection effect featuring my favourite sequel-era villain. In one of the pre-shows of ROTR, a projected Kylo Ren uses the Force.

And… we feel it happen. Physically, there is a rumble. We feel the Force.

My curiosity was piqued. How could I expand that effect?

I still think the ultrasonic concept I snuck into that ideation page would’ve have been awesome. But, at the time, the technology was new and I was a university student with the budget to match.

Instead, I turned to wearable haptics and began the concept design phase:

I moved from the above concepts to haptic gloves, hats, vests… But there was no magic in those, no discovery. If you give a guest a haptic glove, ergonomic challenges aside, you’re telling them “Hey! You’re about to experience tactile sensation! Giving you plenty of warning so you aren’t allowed the magic of discovering it yourself!!!!”

That. Is. Not. Theme. Park. Magic.

But how do you give a guest haptic feedback without them wearing a haptic device? How do you catch them by surprise without giving away how the magic works?

The answer, I realised, was through the floor:

The second I sketched out what I was thinking, I knew I’d found something good. I raced to the workshop and cobbled together an initial prototype.

I will never forget the moment I finished programming that first tile and stood on it myself. I’d hooked it up to a digital piano. Holding my breath, I hit the first notes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and felt it rumble underfoot, then up through my entire body. It worked. It worked!!!

Thus began the cycle of sketching, prototyping, testing, and researching. Now that I knew the concept had potential, I had to rely on all my skills in both design and engineering to perfect what I had made.

There were many parts to this; first, I had to demonstrate how haptic floor tiles might be implemented in theme parks. Sticking with the Star Wars inspiration, I concepted a ‘Use the Force’ experience that haptic flooring could enhance:

The biggest challenge, however, was the construction of the floor tiles. I had to select materials, shapes, supports, arrangements and electrical components that provided the perfect amount of vibration transmission. This took months of testing, tweaking, and prototyping.

There were a couple weeks where I had the tile prototypes supported by springs. This was part of an effort to vibrationally test floor supports from the most to least rigid. It was also, incidentally, hilarious and completely impractical:

With each change I made, I conducted a series of tests from transmissibility readings to finite element analyses. These made up the scientific justifications for my design choices.

What I’ve shown throughout this is only a snippet of the full design process. I have hundreds of pages of artwork, calculations, user testing data, CAD models, 3D-printed prototypes… I dedicated myself entirely to this project, and ended up with a final product that I am incredibly proud of.

Nothing is created in isolation. I have to thank Craig Whittet for never once doubting my dream to become an Imagineer. Joe Lanzisero for believing in this project and the wide-eyed 22-year-old developing it. Jared Proulx for being the best mentor in the world. My friends Lewis, Lukas, Joseph, and Kyle for listening to my endless tangents about haptic flooring. All the many people who took part in TacTILE user testing. And, of course, thank you to my parents for all the theme park trips as a kid.