Fairground: Thrill Laboratory - Speakers
Speakers (all events):
A Brief History of Tonight’s Ride
Dan Howland, Editor, The Journal of Ride Theory, Portland, Oregon, USA
Dan will speak on the history and design of the evening’s ride using original patents and simple models to show the rides’ movements.
Ride Commentary
Dr Alex Taylor, Socio-digital Systems Group, Microsoft Research, Cambridge
Sociologist Alex Taylor will provide a live running commentary from the ride explaining how thrill is experienced, drawing particular attention to ways of seeing, smelling and being – how do these experiences conjure up the sense of thrill?
Speakers (for Pleasure):
Carnival of Crime
Mike Presdee, Director of Criminology, University of Kent
In a tightly controlled, super-rational society, where does our quest for excitement lead us? Criminal acts, illegal pleasures and extreme stunts including free-running and fire-starting are all contemporary options in the continual carnival of everyday life.
Landscapes of Pleasure
Josie Kane, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
How did early British amusement park landscapes create ‘pleasure’ for the modern masses? Take a cultural and historical trip back to early-20th-century Blackpool to discover how technology created new meanings of thrill.
‘No - look at his face - he's enjoying it!’
Claire O’Malley, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
Are we able to tell by watching someone on a fairground ride whether they are terrified or actually having a good time?
Robots and Machines Get Emotional
Lola Cañamero, School of Computer Science, Hertfordshire University
What are your chances of meeting a pleasure-enhancing robot, and would you even want to? How is affective computing helping to develop machines with emotions, and where should the dividing line between ‘human’ and ‘machine’ fall?
Speakers (for Frisson):
The Haunted House
Barry Curtis, London Consortium
Explore this archetypal spine-chilling space, and examine representations of the haunted house through history. Examples are drawn from films ranging from early explorations of uncanny spaces in German Expressionism to the latest digitally animated varieties of possessed structures.
Seeing More with Your Eyes Closed
Richard Cadell, Cadells Amusements Ltd
A gory illusionist and experienced scaremonger will take us behind the scenes in the creation of the three-tiered Terror Castle. It employs a different approach in creating fear...
Fear/Thrill/Fear/Thrill/Fear/Thrill...
Michael John Apter, Apter International Ltd
Fear and thrill are opposite ways of experiencing the very same ‘arousal’. With fear, the greater the arousal the worse it feels; with thrill, the better it feels. Find out about the games we play with ourselves to heighten our excitement.
The Roller-Coaster Machine
Helena Csarmann, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Abandon yourself to the machinations of the conveyor belt. Take a look at the Ghost Train as a production line that processes guests. What happens when you are in this machine? How does this relate to your experience of ‘thrill’?
Speakers (for Excitement):
Bring on the Booster
Jack Souilljee, KMG, Netherlands, manufacturer of the Booster
How do you make a business from selling thrill rides? The Booster manufacturer tells the story of how the ride was developed, marketed, manufactured and sold – and how this evening’s ride was delivered only three weeks ago!
The Fantastic Voyage of Autonomous Astronauts
Neil Gordon-Orr, Association of Autonomous Astronauts
Welcome to the emerging era of space tourism and star wars. Find out how community-based space exploration could investigate possibilities of life in space, beyond the forces of state, economy and gravity.
Hitting the G-Spot
Chris Welch, Astronautics and Space Systems Group, Kingston University
Take a look at the physics behind G-forces. Discover how these acceleration forces are used to provide thrill in fairground rides – and what they mean for space-flight training and space missions.
Space Flight: The Ultimate Fairground Attraction?
Kevin Fong, University College London
Imagine massive acceleration, hypersonic speeds, millions of pounds of thrust, then weightlessness and spectacular views of the Earth... what a ride! But human space flight isn’t yet routine and poses many risks – so is the ride really worth it?