Olympics are subject to much attention worldwide and rightly so. Therefore, for such a special occasion, arrangements have to be made in order. Intel stepped into the game, and assured those at the opening ceremony of a fantastic evening by being so creative, that they even broke a world record with it.
The record was set when Intel’s 1,218 drones, which appeared as if they were a shooting star, started flying in the air, in synchronization with each other. The scene which was created was amazing to see, as the drones lined up in an order, that depicted the images of Olympic sports. Not only this, but they also merged together to form Olympic rings, which are associated with it since the beginning. The sight was a must watch for anyone who happened to attend the ceremony at the Pyeongchang.
According to rotordronemag, “Each of Intel’s foam and plastic drones is equipped with LED lights that can create more than 4 billion color combo.”
Though, it should be noted that the not actually 1,218 drones flew in mid-air at the opening ceremony. Their flight was recorded prior to the ceremony, since it would have been safer to do so, assuming the number of people who turn up at the Olympics.
Though, out of these 1,218 drones, 300 drones did catch the attention when flown mid-air to viewers’ delight. The same happened at Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Halftime show, but this time the numbers were even greater since the number of drones this time managed to even break the world record.
If you were the one who missed this opportunity, then you can have another chance to see it. This is possible since Intel’s 300 drones didn’t just showcase at the opening, but they will continue to do so every night. They would also do the honor at the medal ceremony as well. Therefore, do not be dismayed if you have missed the opportunity to do so recently.
According to a report on Wired, the number of drones used initially is really mind-blowing but there wouldn’t be much difference if they had used 300 drones for the images as well. If more drones are added, the image quality and resolution would be affected, that’s all. This is because a central computer system manages everything. This includes the flying coordinates, along with the GPS signal and battery life of each and every drone.
Though, Intel had to hassle through some small changes to make these drone adapt to the weather conditions in Pyeongchang. Since the weather is usually cold and windy there they had to change the designs of the rotor cages.
To make sure, there wouldn’t be an accident at such a large opening ceremony, testing took place in Finland. This was because Finland equally is chilly as Pyeongchang, making sure, the aerial fleet wouldn’t
“sink”.
Through this showcase, “most unmanned aerial vehicles airborne simultaneously,” were flown which is a record in itself, as appreciated by both Intel as well as Guinness Book of world records. The previous record was quite less, as this record is twice that of the previous one. The previous record was set in 2016, by Intel’s 500 drones in flight. This was for done for a performance in Germany.