At the Winter Olympic games, Intel presented a history-making light show using drones. Intel's Shooting Stars in snowboarder formation (via Olympic games)
South Korea was determined to make the 2018 Winter Olympic Games memorable from the moment it was announced the country will host the event. The games organization committee focused on highlighting South Korea’s technological advancements, especially in the field of robotic. The world had already witnessed some of the country’s prowess during the Torch relay which featured a few robots as torch bearers. But it doesn’t stop there.
For the opening ceremony of this year’s Winter Olympic Games, the audience was presented with a show of lights representing the traditional interlacing circles, the symbol of the Olympic Games. Similar to the 2017 Superbowl Halftime show, the aerial demonstration in Pyeongchang had the merit of using more than three times the number of drones used during the Superbowl party. As can be imagined, such feat wouldn’t happen without a few technical challenges.
As a courtesy of Intel, the drone show appeared to be part of the company’s big plan to dominate in the area of robotics. To achieve its goal, Intel had to design a new type of drone which is much easier to use. The new drone’s name is Shooting Star and has the obvious mission of becoming a star when launched in the sky. Besides replacing fireworks, Shooting Star is also light weight and secured. Natalie Cheung, Intel’s light show business lead, explained that a propeller cage was added to ensure that the drone was safe for anyone to fly. She is supported by Anil Nanduri, Intel’s VP of UAV who further explained that the drone could be operated by two people as another safety measure, which helped in getting the project approved by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).
In spite of checking all the security boxes, Shooting Stars failed from a logistic standpoint. Lasting only 20 min in the sky, the drones present a challenge to operate in real time. For that reason, whether it was for the Superbowl or the Olympics, the images of the drone demonstration were recorded before the event so that the management team could have better control of the light show. In addition, in Pyeongchang, the weather of the city may have been another reason for not presenting a live light show. Not that the computer controlling the drones’ animation could suddenly crash, or the high winds in Pyeongchang could affect its functioning, but it is always advised to be safe than sorry.
Moving forward during the Olympic Games, Shooting Stars will make more apparitions with various themes related to the Winter Games such as a man on a snowboard. Cheung explained that every animation of the drones is carefully planned using a combination of pictures and 3-D drawings. Then each drone is programmed with the behavior expected of it. But, all that preparation wouldn’t mean much if the drones and the formations were not tested multiple times and every aspect of the operation perfected.
With the Olympic Games, Intel’s contribution might have inspired many about the future of drone shows. And the opportunity to play such an important part in the games is sure to open more doors than imaginable for the company.
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