Exploring HoloTrac
HoloTrac is our unique platform which connects all the elements of a themed entertainment space together digitally. It mixes hardware and software with our intelligent engineering capabilities to allow our team of storytellers to create smart, digital-first guest experiences.
We sat down with Holovis’ Head of Platforms Stuart Edgington to ask him about this next generation piece of technology and how it’s being used in attractions around the world.
Q. Can you tell me a little bit more about the specific capabilities of HoloTrac? Of course – HoloTrac is our platform that blends all our capabilities into one powerful set of tools that we can yield when designing next-generation experiences and attractions. First we have a series of input devices – motion tracking cameras, object recognition and user attribute recognition, which provides the system with real-time information on the location, amount and movement of our guests, as well as specifics such as what they may be wearing, their approximate age and even their emotions. The system then takes these series of inputs and is able to quickly analyse them in order to make a number of decisions. Then use a series of output devices – generative AI, customized media or more traditional special effects like sound, air or smoke – to create a unique experience for the guests based on these inputs.
Q. What does this mean in real terms for a guest? It means that without them ever knowing we can track a guest’s features or actions and customise the experience for them. For example, we could track when a guest performs a certain action, such as waving, and then we can trigger a response in the attraction to this action – ie, a digital character can wave back. The capabilities of this really are endless – there’s a nearly infinite amount of inputs and outputs that we can use according to exactly what the narrative of the experience requires.
Q. How is it used in a large-scale attraction? One of our favourite examples of the technology in action is in the LEGO® Factory Adventure Ride, which can be found at LEGOLAND® parks in New York and Korea. In this attraction we use the technology in a number of different ways – near the start of the experience, guests have to scream to wake up a sleeping dragon – and guests see how loud their scream is measured on a screen. Then, later in the ride, is the real star moment – guests are transformed into LEGO® Minifigures! HoloTrac reads a guest’s physical attributes, such as their hair colour, the colour of their clothes and things like if they’re wearing glasses. Our system then produces a digital replica of them as a LEGO® Minifigure, which, using Motion Tracking, will even mimic their actions! This character then appears later throughout the experience in a number of different moments.
Q. Is it only suitable for these large-scale attractions? Absolutely not! HoloTrac is suitable for any size of experience. Another of our best use cases is the S·E·A Guardian Games, an incredibly ambitious parkwide interactive game we created for SeaWorld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. In the game guests join the S·E·A, an organization dedicated to the protection of our oceans through research, as they participate in the “S·E·A Guardian Games”. This consists of over 15 different, unique interactive games and experiences throughout the park that guests will encounter on their journey through the 8 realms. These vary greatly in their nature and use of HoloTrac – in some games guests use their movements to control their characters, in others they must mimic the sounds of animals – the variety of different gameplay we were able to achieve is very exciting.
Q. What about in a live experience? Could it be used for something like immersive theatre? Absolutely! The beauty of HoloTrac is it is so flexible and can be employed across large, group scenarios as well as smaller, individual experiences. We can’t divulge too much information, but we have even employed it in designs for immersive theatre experiences. In this particular example guests would have their image captured at the point of sign up, allowing us to use facial recognition throughout the experience. When they then reach certain points, characters would be able to greet them by name, know certain information about them, and we would be able to place them directly into the narrative by using generative AI and real-time media to change the environment around them. Again, the scope here is really only limited by our imagination as we dream up exciting ways to apply this technology to the experiences we design.
Q. What’s next for HoloTrac? HoloTrac will always be evolving – we are at a very exciting time particularly with the capabilities of AI and real-time media generation, and that is something that we’re very excited about incorporating into HoloTrac as it grows. As it is a suite of tools, we are able to constantly add to it as new technologies emerge without having to worry about complex integrations into an existing ecosystem, which allows us to be very reactionary and very quick to deploy these technologies to the market. We’re currently working on some new features that push the boundaries of what is possible in technology enabled experiences, including applications that utilise the incredible developments in Large Language and Multi Models. We can’t give away too much at the moment but it’s going to be exciting and represent the future of immersive experience design!
Thank you to Stuart for talking to us about HoloTrac – if you’d like to find out more email social@holovis.com where a member of the team will be happy to discuss it with you.