Thrill Engineer Brendan Walker on the Science of Sensation
'According to Thrill Engineer Brendan Walker, the most thrilling moment of any theme park experience is just before it begins. 'That brief interlude between being strapped in and the launch of the ride. '“Nothing matches that moment of giving yourself to the ride, that point of no reasonable return, ” he says. 'Walker specialises in analysing sensation: taking a thrill attraction back...
jump-o-meter
Thrill Laboratory is renowned for creating some of the UK's leading precision bespoke scientific instrumentation. Our Jump-O-Meter is no exception - using 6 degree-of-motion detection coupled with machine learning algorithms to determine the emotional response of babies to audio visual stimuli. How does it work? Put simply: in a pleasurable environment thrill is proportional to intensity of movement, which...
NEUROSIS the world’s first brain controlled thrill ride
Neurosis features a six-degree-of-freedom motion simulator and virtual reality headset to immerse the rider in a surreal environment, controlled not by a ride operator, but by the rider's own brain activity. This activity generates an audio-visual virtual world where pathways emerge, tumbling, twisting and twirling the rider through a psychedelic landscape. The rider's real-time neurological responses to music, motion...
‘Professor of thrill’ proclaimed THIS about Ultimate Abyss
Our 'exotic' experiment (we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise after all) to determine just how thrilling their tallest-at-sea mega slide - Ultimate Abyss - actually is, received attention across Europe. This article from The Express, UK says it all. Luckily, for those who meet our standards, Thrill Laboratory will issue a certificate, which is ideal for photo calls.
Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate Abyss
In May 2016, Royal Caribbean set out to equip its newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, with the most thrilling onboard activities and first-at-sea experiences available... anywhere - as befits the world’s largest cruise liner that has adventure as its primary destination. In delivering against that ambition, this global cruise line set the excitement bar incredibly high in...
mobile poop laboratory
I have a few egg heads at the laboratory, so was delighted to be approached by the Happy Egg Company. The phone call went something like this "Hello Thrill Laboratory, I know you test the effects of horror and fear on human subjects, but can you do something similar with chickens?". Live physiological monitoring was out of the question...
Duality: one body, two brains
On Halloween 2014 Thrill Laboratory broadcast a live experiment created to reveal the effect of horror films on the human brain. Data was monitored and streamed online for interaction by 'science enthusiasts' far and wide, via an animated brain-in-a-jar and an online visualisation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Sa1Oh9drk Broadway Cinema commissioned the experiment for the Mayhem Film Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr8stpnaBLs The underlying technology allows data from any...
an experiment into fear
Production company, Drum commissioned Thrill Laboratory to develop An Experiment Into Fear to launch Summit Entertainment's release of Sinister in the UK. The resulting trailer is cited as being instrumental in the movie achieving 230% of the original box office target. Thrill Laboratory collaborated with the University of Nottingham and UCL to provide: sensor solutions; data gathering and analysis...
Kitchen Thrill-o-meter
Have you ever woken up and wondered "what will happen if I attach electrodes to a baby's foot, and turn up the electricity just a teeny-weeny little bit". No? Me neither. But this is what Thrill Laboratory proposed to do as part of an experiment for the fantastic folk at Ella's Kitchen. This was scientific research conducted in the...