The FINANCIAL– Samsung Electronics has equipped the new flagship attraction, “Chasseurs de Tornades” (Tornado Hunters), at the Futuroscope theme park in Poitiers, France, with innovative technology to bring an immersive and lifelike experience to guests. Samsung’s collaboration with Futuroscope Management and Development (FMD) helped bring the breathtaking attraction to life, making the signage installed by Samsung the largest 360-degree circular LED screen in Europe according to Samsung.
The new attraction, Chasseurs de Tornades, is the result of four years of diligent work between the FMD team and Samsung, an industry leader in the global signage market for the past 13 consecutive years.1 The collaboration has produced a completely immersive audience experience through the use of cutting-edge audiovisual technology.
The concept behind the attraction is an exciting adventure where viewers confront nature’s most extreme elements, plunging them into an immersive whirlwind experience created by Samsung. Based on the story of Chasseurs de Tornades, visitors follow a team of researchers in their all-terrain vehicle in pursuit of tornadoes, according to Samsung.
Sitting atop a dynamic rotating platform, guests come face-to-face with the intensity of a powerful tornado on the largest circular LED wall in Europe. The enormous LED wall from Samsung measures 17 meters in diameter by eight meters high with a total surface area of 420 square meters, making it the largest LED screen of this type in an amusement park that Samsung has installed in the world.
Collectively, it is made up of 800 LED cabinets from the Samsung Indoor IFR series and offers 21K resolution for hyper realistic immersion. Thanks to HDR LED technology, scenes are optimized for high contrast to display detailed, lifelike images. The maximum peak light output is 2,400 nits, and the static contrast rate is 12,000:1, allowing for premium picture quality.
The attraction itself is a 120-seat dynamic motion theatre surrounded by the 360-degree LED screen. Four parts of the screen move down to let the audience come in and out, as well as see two live stage shows through the sliding doors. The flexible design properties of the IFR solution make it suitable for any location, perfectly aligning with the circular dimensions needed for this unique attraction. Additionally, the IFR solution provides double the power supply, giving the attraction greater reliability.
A highlight of the attraction is the removable LED walls where actors perform — a part of the attraction that Samsung was selected to outfit with an LED screen made up of 105 cabinets. To create a truly immersive experience for guests from the moment they enter the attraction, Samsung equipped the “pre-show” area with 20 LED cabinets to create an optical theater known as a “hologram.”
“The circular screen we installed at Futuroscope is the largest LED project we have completed,” said Jeremy Taghon, Head of CE B2B Division at Samsung Electronics France. “I am impressed by and thankful for the hard work and partnership between FMD and Samsung that brought this important technological milestone to life.”
“The contrast ratio, the image, the sharpness, it’s just incredible. An attraction like this is made to last at least 15 years, and LED is the only technology that’s durable enough,” said Yannis Marchet, Development and Projects Director at FMD. “When management agreed we could work with Samsung, everything went smoothly.”
The attraction earned several international awards in 2022, including “Best New Ride” at the European Star Awards and “Best Product Innovation” as well as “Best Dark Ride or Media-based Experience” at the ParkWorld Excellence Awards. Most recently, it won “Outstanding Achievement” from the Themed Entertainment Association, an accolade considered to be the prize for the best attraction in the world.
By installing the largest 360-degree circular LED signage in Europe, Samsung has enabled FMD to wow Futuroscope guests with a mesmerizing audiovisual experience unlike any other.
