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"  Popular Mechanics: When you come up with coaster ideas, I&amp;#039;m sure you have these pie-in-the-sky ideas that often need to be scaled down as you get real and have to deal with economic and physical realities. What are some examples of really crazy features you guys have wanted but were unfeasible? Louis Alfieri: I think we would like to figure out a way to do it without the track. Just to have a vehicle with unlimited potential to have a variety of movements or a changing experience that is unlimited. PM: Do you think magnetic coasters that don&amp;#039;t touch the track are in our future? LA: I think that is something we would like to create. PM: Are you working on something like that? LA: You&amp;#039;ll have to wait and see. PM: Tell me about what the design process is like for a roller coaster, from conception to actually having the coaster up. LA: Well, we do a variety of different things where we analyze what we want to bring to the park and to the environment that is unique to the entire theme park experience. What we wanted to do here was to establish a benchmark that took the coaster not just to be a coaster but a whole music and video experience as well as integrating all of the social media technology that is available today. PM: How has roller coaster design changed over the years? LA: I think it is amazing how all of the technology that is available when you look at what we have got in terms of what we can do with the track layout, what we can do on the coaster, the different types of coaster vehicles that are available, the different restraints, and then all of the different things we are putting on the vehicles. PM: What do you use to design a coaster? What kind of programs? Does it actually start as a hand kind of draw process or is it all done in CAD? LA: It is a combination of all of the above [for the new Rip Ride Rock-It Roller Coaster at Universal Studios]. First it is like the treble clef that I drew on a napkin and then we figured out how to put it together from an engineering standpoint. We used 3D AutoCad, we used a variety of F-16 software which shows the kinds of maneuvers that aerial flights are done with.  PM: How do you guys get ideas for roller coasters? Do they start with a theme, or do you come up with ideas for features you want to integrate and then work off of the theme?  LA: I think it is a little of both. At Universal, we both create unique opportunities and identities and IPs--like we have done with Rock-It--as well as looking at some of our film heritage to draw from. PM: What is your favorite coaster at your parks? LA: My favorite right now would be Rock-It. PM: In Rock-It, one of the most interesting features is its propulsion mechanism, which basically brings you vertically straight up before you take off. How is that done exactly? LA: It&amp;#039;s a conventional chain-drive system. It&amp;#039;s got a number of features integrated into it because of how it brings people up and over the top.  PM: This coaster has a social networking aspect that&amp;#039;s very familiar to those who have used Facebook or even an iPod. Is that something you think you will do in the future, kind of make them a more interactive instead of a passive experience? LA: Absolutely. I think one of the things in attraction development is the need of a shared experience for the entire family and also to create an experience on multiple levels that allows it to be reborn and redeveloped and continue to expand and to change in the future so it is not just fabricated and stands there. SP: The Rock-It coaster, unlike a traditional looping coaster which has the neck restraints that goes over the shoulders, has more of a waist restraint that is a lot bigger than the old lap bars. What is the advantage of using these types of restraints? LA: We wanted to create a very comfortable restraint on the guest given the nature of the maneuvers we were doing and to create a much more free range of movement so you were not hitting your head in the coaster. The sides of the restraint and the nature of the seat make sure all of our guests can ride in it comfortably and safely. PM: How do you model the movement of the person in the coaster? Do you have computer ways of monitoring head movement or do you attach motion sensors to test riders? LA: We have a whole series of tests and parameters from a safety perspective that we institute long before the coaster is even in fabrication. That is all of the design process and then we go to testing and all of the engineers are involved in the testing. PM: What are some new maneuvers that are kind of in vogue in roller coaster design that weren&amp;#039;t around a while back? LA: Well, I think the vertical lift is something that is becoming more pronounced. Launched coasters obviously are something there is a lot of experimentation with. There is a considerable experimentation with the 4D element at this point.  PM: Could you elaborate? LA: Four-D is where the seats are rotating along with the train PM: So I hear you are working on a new Transformers ride. What can you tell me about it? LA: Oh, it&amp;#039;s going to be the most exciting thing you have ever seen. PM: Is it going to be a thrill ride? A dark ride? What kind of ride is it? LA: I think it is a little of everything. PM: How closely are you working with Michael Bay on it? LA: He is on the project. PM: What is he like to work with? LA: He&amp;#039;s great. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a5329/4346531/>