Skip to main content
In depth
Product Showroom_Technifex

Immersive experiences, new innovations & military training: Technifex branches out

With sister company Technifex Products & the newly launched Technifex XR, firm continues to innovate across the special effects space

Back in 2019, Technifex, a global leader in the technical design, engineering and fabrication of show systems for theme parks, attractions, immersive experiences, museums, resorts/hotels, iconic permanent exhibits, training simulators, live shows and events celebrated its 35th anniversary.  

Instead of taking this opportunity to rest on its laurels, the company continued to innovate new products and develop additional client services. In the three years since this milestone, along with its sister company Technifex Products, Technifex has expanded its services and launched an exciting new company, Technifex XR.

Technifex XR

Technifex XR uses technical show systems along with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, such as VR/AR, and Mixed Reality (MR) to produce immersive and practical training and simulation experiences that activate all the senses. Its innovative training systems are typically used to train military and first responder personnel.

Technifex Products, which has been in existence since 1999, fabricates physical special effects for use in attractions, as well as in VR/AR immersive experiences, casinos, retail, restaurants, exhibits, live events, and more. Utilizing its extensive portfolio of patented technologies, Technifex Products builds on decades of development in the special effects field to create products that produce mind-blowing guest experiences.

To find out more, we spoke to Monty Lunde, founder and CEO of all three companies, and Ryan Lunde, VP of Technifex Products, as well as Ian MacVittie, executive VP of Technifex XR.

Futureproofing Technifex

Monty Lunde
Monty Lunde

During the pandemic, Technifex took the opportunity to make some changes in order to futureproof the company.

“When COVID started and the world stopped, it was a chance for us to reflect on how we could positively influence human experiences in the broadest sense and determine how we would achieve this for our clients. We’ve restructured just about everything from a management perspective, as well as the company facilities,” explains Monty Lunde.

“Effectively, we’re a different family of companies. More efficient, more senior management, better equipment, and more organized facilities. In addition, we created two new showrooms to better illustrate our innovations and capabilities. The underpinning of all our decisions was our focus on providing better services and more innovative products to our clients.”

Technifex Products Showroom
Technifex Products showroom: FauxFire products

Introducing new Technifex Products

Ryan_Lunde
Ryan Lunde

One of the key innovations to come out of Technifex Products is a set of new atmospheric special effects which are being used in a range of Dreamscape Immersive experiences, both across the US and in the UAE. Technifex Products is responsible for the engineering, productization, and fabrication of these new effects. They are programmed specifically for each free-roam VR adventure and include wind, rain, water drips, mist, and scent.

“The types of atmospheric effects, in and of themselves, aren’t unique. They have been done before,” says Ryan Lunde.

“What is unique is the way we have packaged the systems. We streamlined each system into very compacted packages, so they can fit into almost any space available. This allows Dreamscape to sneak them into positions that blend within the VR scene that guests experience. The development has been a fantastic collaboration between my team at Technifex Products and the Dreamscape team.

“The effects are tied to the guests’ inputs as well,” he adds. “Users trigger the effects in real-time while playing in a VR world.”

Tech enhances Harry Potter experiences

Visitors can enjoy Dreamscape Immersive experiences at a range of locations, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Columbus, in the USA, and Dubai in the UAE.  The most notable installation, however, is at the new flagship Harry Potter Store, in New York.

“The Harry Potter experience has had a wonderful reception.  All the reviews I have read and people I’ve spoken to wish it was a longer experience,” says Ryan Lunde. “They had so much fun they just did not want it to end!

“That’s the largest installation, and there are a lot of custom effects that we haven’t included in the other Dreamscape attractions. The team behind the Harry Potter franchise really wanted to push the limits of effects technologies. So, the Dreamscape creators really challenged us and went all out.  The end result is awesome!”

Adding special effects underfoot

Another product that the team introduced at the 2021 IAAPA show is Technifex Products’ new Sensory Floor. This is a free walking motion platform that includes integrated and standardized effects such as wind, scent, leg ticklers, vibrations, LEDs and much more.

The flexible design and modular approach mean there are many applications for the Sensory Floor within the attractions industry. It is ideal for VR and AR experiences, as well as haunted houses, theme park queues, tradeshow exhibits and other immersive experiences.

Sensory Floor Technifex
Sensory Floor – Technifex showroom

Explaining the thought behind it, Monty Lunde says:

“We’ve been developing 4D and atmospheric effects over several decades for all sorts of immersive attractions. But no one had developed an effective method of incorporating an array of special effects into a modular floor system.

“To address this, we’ve created modular four by eight-foot floor panels that can be linked together.  There is no limit to the number of floor panels that can be connected. And the effects can be similar, or different, in each.  We can initiate these effects via any number of triggering systems as people walk through an attraction.  Our Sensory Floor will make any immersive experience more surprising and impactful.”

Technifex XR brings attraction expertise to training simulators

ian macvittie Technifex XR
Ian MacVittie

Technifex’s industry-leading solutions in special effects have recently led it to branch out from its traditional entertainment-based clients. Technifex XR LLC, a new company launched in 2020 and led by industry veteran Ian MacVittie, creates visceral training and simulation experiences. These utilize an array of show technologies, special effects and AR/VR/MR.  

Prior to starting Technifex XR, Technifex’s past customers have included the US Department of Defense and the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACOFD).

“At Technifex XR, we approach the development of immersive experiences in a way that mirrors how we approach any entertainment space,” says MacVittie.

The conceptual and technical development process is the same when the company works for the military:

“We create an immersive environment and layer in cutting edge technologies to create what we call immersive cognition for the individuals going through the training experience.

“More specifically, the military is looking for much more realistic, immersive, and visceral training scenarios that connect the senses to what the troops would really experience on deployment. We can make the environment seem extremely realistic, without the expense of using real military equipment. We can also operate our training systems independent of weather, time of day or geographic location.

“For us, it’s a natural progression. Instead of a creative director, we work with military or first responder Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). They inform us of the training goals and objectives. We then use our entertainment-based technologies to create highly realistic training experiences for our troops and first responders.”

Emergency responder training

Before the formation of Technifex XR, Technifex had already been working in this sector for about a decade. It began when the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACOFD) approached the company to develop a hazmat training experience at its Valencia-based Del Valle training facility.

“We sat with the LACOFD Subject Matter Experts and learned about real-world hazmat issues and what first responders needed to learn to be fully prepared for the dangerous events they could face,” says Monty Lunde.

“We then created a series of immersive scenarios that focused on those factors, with true cause and effect consequences when trainees missed an important step in the hazmat mitigation process.”

Los Angeles Fire Dept training Technifex
Los Angeles County Fire Department – meeting with hazmat personnel

“Ultimately, we engineered and fabricated a full-scale tanker truck and trailer. This had numerous leaks, real fire, smoke and other effects that simulated a major Los Angeles freeway accident scene. The system was fully immersive and instantly controllable by the trainer which meant the training could vary depending on how the trainees were performing.”

The IED Battle Drill

Then, Technifex was approached by the Department of Defense. The company was asked to develop a training system to help troops better identify Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

“We developed a training system called the IED Battle Drill,” says Monty Lunde. “This was a fully immersive trainer. It included a real Humvee, mounted to a six-degree of freedom motion base and a 270-degree wraparound seamless screen, all integrated into a mobile tractor-trailer.”

IED Battle Drill
IED Battle Drill

“The system could run with five troops at a time, practising spotting and calling in their observations.  If they failed to observe and call in a potential IED threat to their base commander, trainers could set off a massive detonation sequence. 

“The troops would feel up to 8G’s along with smoke, concussive blasts, sound effects, and flashing strobes. It’s all designed to be very uncomfortable and teach troops the importance of careful observation.”

Technifex XR presents the 4D JTAC VR Simulator

The latest innovation from Technifex XR is the 4D JTAC VR Simulator. This is a fully immersive Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training environment. It touches almost all the senses, heightening a participant’s feeling of being in an actual war zone, according to MacVittie: 

“JTACs locate on a high position on a battlefield, surveying and then calling in aircraft to engage enemy positions. We have developed a VR based unit that allows JTACs to see the entire landscape, while also experiencing all the visceral effects of being in battle.”

Technifex JTAC
JTAC Training System

“A motion base provides movement and replicates the shock waves of explosive blasts as well as the vibrations from heavy ground vehicles. We also replicate rotor downwash from overhead aircraft, which completely immerses trainees in a battle scenario. If trainees drop a bomb too close to their position, their whole world starts to shake and rattle and the heat from the blast melts their faces. Okay not really, but they do feel intense heat!”

For the Technifex team, this is a worthwhile way to be using their expertise.

“We truly believe we can make a difference in the military training market. This is due to our expertise in developing 4D effects for the entertainment industry for nearly 38 years. Our passion and commitment is to develop training systems that will help bring our troops home safely” says Monty Lunde.

Technifex continues to innovate

As guests expect entertainment experiences to be more immersive than ever before, Technifex continues innovating.  

“We have a broad base of entertainment clients, both in the US and internationally. They want us to create ever more immersive, realistic and cost-effective experiences”, says Monty Lunde. “To help answer this challenge, we developed our line of modular effect systems. These can be incorporated into haunted houses, VR and AR attractions, flying theatres and other 4D experiences.  

“We have also examined our production techniques and now utilize cutting edge methods to manufacture several of our products. This has greatly reduced their cost and improved performance.”

“What is interesting is that we are getting more involved with projects that are highly immersive and repeated at several locations. This is a relatively new opportunity for us and necessitates the focus on pricing and efficient packaging,” adds Monty Lunde.

“Our markets and customers continue to grow and evolve as has the family of Technifex companies. Our plan is to provide solutions to creative challenges in numerous markets that are innovative and repeatable as well as cost-effective. 

“Through our investment into developing new technologies and providing exceptional service to our clients, we believe we can play a part in making the human experience more exceptional, educational and fun.”

Share this
charlotte coates

Charlotte Coates

Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.

More from this author

More from this author

Related content

Your web browser is out of date. Update your browser for more security, speed and the best experience on this site.

Find out how to update