Prof. Chin-Yuan Yang and four students from the Department of Theatrical Design and Technology have created a surfing simulator, demonstrating the kind of creativity that is needed to overcome all those behind-the-scene challenges.
The simulator, based on a mechanism derived from the six-actuator Stewart Platform, is the end product of a theatrical technology course Prof. Yang taught last semester.
The simulator was created from scratch, a project – from brainstorming, design, material purchase to assembling – all completed by the small team under Prof. Yang's guidance in more than two months without any outside help. The machine works on a software program written by Prof. Yang.
Prof. Yang said theatrical technicians constantly face challenges from directors and scenographers. His course is meant to prepare students for the many unforeseeable stage challenges they may see in their future careers, and therefore there is no specific syllabus or theme.
Last semester, he came up with the idea of creating such a machine in order to stimulate the students' interests and let them have an opportunity to actually build something.
A six-actuator Stewart Platform is commonly used in flight simulators. The lifeboat seen in the film "Life of Pi" also operated on a Stewart Platform. The surfing simulator has two extra actuators to simulate the forward and backward motions.
Making this machine was rather expensive. But they managed to raise more than NT$200,000 for the project through crowdfunding in four weeks.
Now the team has received a lot of inquiries, some exploring the possibilities of its use on stage and others asking to have it displayed at exhibitions. One of the inquiries has come from the director of the Department of Theatre Arts' fall production this year.