"Mickey Track" is the component in the parade control system that translates the operator's intentions into the below voltage control signals required by the parade lighting and sounds equipment. It employs digital techniques through the use of microprocessors to execute these translations. In addition, these translations in the form of cues are memorized in solid-state memory for continuous use, and more permanently on "floppy disk" for future use. 

Once these cues are memorized, the unit, through the use of radio transmitters on the floats and radio receivers (sensors) imbedded in the street, will automatically track the parade and execute the appropriate cues at the appropriate times. 

-Excerpt from the original operation manual, February 1980