Motion platform
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Motion_Simulator. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2006. |
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A motion platform is a type of amusement ride with a seating platform remaining parallel to the ground while being moved in a circular motion along a vertical plane. Motion platforms found in a traveling carnival include the "Yellow Submarine." Larger scale motion platforms include "Air Time" at Carowinds, "Corkscrew Hill" at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man" at Islands of Adventure, Star Tours at Disney MGM Studios and Mission: Space at Epcot.
A motion platform can also be called a motion base, a motion seat, or a motion simulator among other things. The primary function of a motion platform is to provide realistic physical movement for one or more occupants. The movement is synchronous with visual display and is designed to add a tactile, or sense of touch, element to video gaming, simulation, and virtual reality. When motion is applied and synchronized to audio and video signals, the result is a combination of sight, sound, and touch. Such a combination is typically found in a flight or racing simulator. Motion, some claim, is the most significant factor affecting the realism of a simulation.
Motion and simulation, traditionally applied to racing sim and flight sim, have long been associated with one another. Motion is being applied to an increasing variety of video gaming applications however. Visit any modern video game arcade and one can plainly see that gaming in motion is everywhere. Motion applications have moved beyond auto racing and flight sim to include boats, motorcycles, rollercoasters, tanks, ATVs, and spaceships among many other craft types.
Motion platforms can provide movement on up to six (6) degrees of freedom. The six (6) possible degrees of freedom are broken into two categories of motion – rotational motion and linear, or translational, motion.