
Many involve complex and expensive infrastructure to coordinate trigger points for audio throughout the parade route. But what if you could dramatically reduce the overall cost without sacrificing audio functionality?
Forward Thinking Designs has developed the Entertainment on the GO Suite, a revolutionary system that relieves theme parks and live entertainment venues from the burden of expensive infrastructure. The Entertainment on the GO Suite software solution runs natively on off-the-shelf Q-SYS hardware as well as other 3rd party audio, lighting, and related equipment. This solution suite involves four unique plug-ins created by Forward Thinking Designs: Parade Controller, Vehicle Controller, Onboard Player, and Mini Map.

The Parade Controller is the central piece of the suite as ties everything together in the solution, synchronizing onboard and offboard players through GPS and cellular technology. The UCI includes the ability to auto and manually play announcements, enabling and disabling each zone the parade passes through, the status of each float (online/offline) and what cues they are currently playing, and a real-time display map.
Onboard Player is a GPS triggering and audio playback plugin system for vehicles. It can be programmed to play different audio tracks based on location, speed, and direction, and it’s even capable of logging GPS points for later use. With up to 256 triggers for up to 16 different routes or shows, this system is powerful yet easy for both programmer and show operator. While the float is in motion, Onboard Player sends GPS data to Parade Controller, allowing it to track the position of each parade float.

Vehicle Controller is another system that lives on the float itself. It serves as the brain of the float, housing each float’s list of cues and its corresponding audio tracks. Working in tandem with the Onboard Player, once the float reaches a GPS location, the Vehicle Controller sends its data to the Parade Controller, instructing it to play those specific cues. This ensures that the audio and visual elements of the parade are synchronized down to frame accuracy.
As mentioned before, Mini Map is a visual on the Parade Controller UCI that shows where each float is within your park. All you must do is supply it with a static image of an overview picture of the area, the top and bottom coordinates of that map, and an overlay of each float’s location will be displayed.

What’s the best part of the Entertainment on the GO Suite? It’s not just powerful and versatile; it’s also inclusive and budget friendly. There is no need for expensive infrastructure – this suite can be implemented at a significantly lower cost than traditional solutions. We aim to make world-class parade systems accessible to everyone in the entertainment market, from small local parks to large multi-park corporations. Another major benefit of the suite is the time you will save. This suite lets you easily set up and program a parade within 48 hours.
The system is designed for end users and operators, ensuring ease of use. It includes a simple display for operators to run and is easy to fire and adjust manually. Its flexibility and scalability make it suitable for a wide variety of use cases, not limited to parades. It can also be used for trams, trains, live shows, marching performances, and character performances. Clients can customize the system according to their specific needs, whether they want to use just one part of the suite or the entire system, providing a adaptable systems for their unique requirements.