What happens when you put KUKA roboticists and Disney "imagineers" in the same room?
The result is the Sum of All Thrills, a robocoaster at Epcot, part of Walt Disney World in Florida. Strap yourself to this 6-DOF manipulator and off you go.
You ride under a hood with a screen showing high-def video of a virtual ride. There are even air blowers for added realism. The two-seat ride system keeps your legs suspended, just like in the real thing.
It's also cool that riders can customize their ride. And it appears the ride-design system is not just some mock interface -- it does look really well done, with equations and all.
UPDATE: Or if you have a spare manipulator laying around, you can really design your own ride.
UPDATE 2: Check also this flight simulator developed at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, in Tübingen, Germany, featured in our iCandy series of tech photos this month.
Photo: Anne Faden/Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
