Gerardo Tapia-Onate

Jukebox Joyride:

3rd Place: 2025 Ride Engineering Competition

Jukebox Joy Ride is a music-themed flat ride designed for thrill-seekers. Inspired by the beat of classic jukeboxes and the energy of a disco dance floor, our team engineered a safe and engaging attraction for the 2025 Ride Engineering Competition.
The Ride Engineering Competition challenges university teams to simulate real-world amusement ride development. Teams are expected to handle every step of the ride creation—from concept development and risk assessment to prototyping and final presentation.

Project Overview and Features:

Jukebox Joy Ride combines engaging ride dynamics with robust control and safety systems to deliver a thrilling experience for all our disco riders. The ride features a custom-designed operator control panel equipped with emergency stop and reset functions, key-operated system lockout, manual and automatic operation modes, start/pause controls, and real-time safety indicators. Temperature monitoring and bilingual (English and Spanish) safety announcements are integrated to enhance rider safety and accessibility.

At the core of the system is a distributed control architecture utilizing multiple Arduinos. The primary controller manages the overall ride timing and motion sequences, while a secondary controller handles synchronized audio playback and safety messaging. Communication between controllers is handled via I2C and UART, ensuring precise coordination across subsystems.

Mechanically, the ride platform uses a linear actuator to dynamically tilt the main plate during operation. The plate spins at 120 RPM, while each of the three ride vehicles rotates independently at 80 RPM, creating a complex motion profile capable of producing up to 3Gs of force. Each ride cycle runs for 90 seconds, followed by a 30-second downtime for safe boarding and unloading. With three vehicles each holding 22 riders, the ride supports up to 66 passengers per cycle, optimizing both capacity and throughput.

Ride Operation:

Rider Vehicle :

Control Panel:

DEMO:

My Role:

Controls Team: Audio System Design & Integration

Contributions:

Audio Synchronization System and Playlist

-Designed and implemented the ride’s audio system to ensure music playback was synchronized with ride operation, enhancing guest immersion.

-Programmed a randomized playlist of 50 songs to provide a unique audio experience on every ride cycle, improving re-rideability.

-Integrated pre-recorded safety messages in both English and Spanish to improve accessibility and meet safety communication standards.

Embedded System Development

-Utilized an Arduino microcontroller to manage audio functions via UART communication with a voice playback module connected to speakers.

-Implemented I2C communication to receive operational signals from the primary ride control controller.

Operator Control Panel Design

-Co-designed a multifunctional control panel featuring buttons for emergency stop, start, reset, pause, manual motor controls, temperature monitoring, and safety announcement activation.

Component Selection

-Researched and selected key system components, including the motor, motor driver, and voice playback module, ensuring compatibility, reliability, and adherence to budget and safety constraints.

ASTM F24 Standards Compliance

-Ensured the control system design followed ASTM F24 amusement ride safety standards, contributing to the risk assessment and hazard mitigation planning processes.

Technical Documentation & Testing Protocols

-Authored sections of the technical documentation for both Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), detailing test procedures, system checks, and performance criteria.

Learning Outcome:

Working on Jukebox Joy Ride was an invaluable opportunity to apply real-world engineering practices in a multidisciplinary team setting. I deepened my understanding of embedded systems, especially in synchronizing control logic across multiple microcontrollers using UART and I2C communication. Selecting appropriate components—such as the motor, driver, and audio module—taught me how to balance performance, safety, and cost. I also gained firsthand experience interpreting and applying ASTM F24 safety standards, which significantly improved my ability to assess risk and design with compliance in mind. Writing technical documentation for both Factory and Site Acceptance Testing helped me develop clarity and precision in my engineering communication. Overall, this project enhanced my technical fluency, strengthened my collaborative skills, and gave me insight into the end-to-end process of designing an interactive ride experience.

CAPED Website

Full Technical Report

Official REC Website

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