100 drones in perfect sync with Beethoven: This world record achievement is a must see!
posted Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 3:54 PM EDT
Intel set a world record for the most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying simultaneously when they synced up 100 drones with an orchestra. The "Drone 100" show took place in Germany in November, but the footage was shown for the first time by Intel at CES during their keynote presentation.
Just seeing 100 drones up in the sky together would be impressive, but Intel took it one step further by hiring Ars Electronica Futurelab out of Austria to give the drones individual flight paths and lighting patterns while staying in time with a live orchestral performance. Ars Electronica Futurelab created original software that would give each of the drones a specific flight path and manage the lights.
The drones' paths were choreographed and drawn out by hand before being input into three-dimensional design software. The crew on the ground were using Intel-powered PCs (this was funded by Intel, after all) to control the drones.
Check out the video below to see the drones flying with remarkable precision as the orchestra below plays Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
It took years of hard work and developments by the Ars Electronic Futurelab team to organize the amazing display. In the spirit of competition, I hope that there are teams out there already working to break this newly-achieved world record, because I'm keen to see even bigger drone displays.
Intel has also released a cool behind-the-scenes look at "Drone 100," which you can see below.
(Seen via Fstoppers)