Intel scored a massive win at yesterday’s US Super bowl with an aerial display of drones that appeared above Lady GaGa singing “God Bless America” and “This Land Is Your Land”.
The technology used to deliver the Intel Shooting Star drone system will one day revolutionize search-and-rescue, agriculture, halftime shows, and could well be used in Australia in the future claim Intel executives.
If you think that you have seen this before, maybe on a trip to Disney World recently you are spot on.
The company’s Shooting Star drone squad recently finished a three-week run at Disney World, and last year 500 synchronized drones flew in Sydney, setting the highly specific world record for “most unmanned aerial vehicles airborne simultaneously.”
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Each drone is about 30 centimetres in length and weighs about 0.2 kilograms, they have a plastic and foam body to soften inadvertent impacts. Unlike the drones, you buy at JB Hi Fi these drones are designed not to be seen, Instead, you’re supposed to notice the four billion colour combinations created by the onboards LEDs, and the aerial acrobatics choreographed with meticulous coding.
Each drone communicates wirelessly with a central computer to execute its dance routine, oblivious to what the hundreds of machines around it are doing.
The 300 unmanned aerial vehicles, supplied by Intel, were GPS-controlled and fitted with advanced LED lights that first shined red and blue in the shape of the US.
The “Shooting Star” drones also formed two Pepsi logos and the Intel symbol to close out the show.
While it appeared to be live, the mid-air performance was taped earlier this week, due to FAA regulations barring radio-controlled aircraft within 34.5 miles of Houston’s NRG Stadium during the Super Bowl.
