Intel And Its 300 Drones To Add Another Attraction To Disney World

Updated on

Intel has been known for flying hundreds of drones that move in a coordinated manner, creating an effect that is similar to a mid-air ballet. Now it is working with Walt Disney to take that showcase to another level by putting up around 300 drones in the sky for an animated light show.

Drone show another attraction for Disney World

Intel will be putting 300 drones up in the sky for months, and these drones will be a part of the Starbright Holidays aerial light show. The show will run at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida during the holiday season. The show will create animations in the night sky. These drones will have LEDs that can create over 4 billion color combinations, reports PC World.

Such a show will be another attraction for Disney World, similar to the fireworks show that it hosts regularly. The show will feature many LED-laden flying machines painting colorful pictures across the sky.

According to Walt Disney and Intel, this is the first drone performance of this scale in the U.S. Josh Walden, general manager and senior vice president of Intel’s New Technologies Group, said the two companies are aiming for a “fresh and innovative approach to [Disney’s] world-renowned light shows.”

“Together, we worked to tackle the new frontier of animation, picturing the sky as our canvas and flying lights as ink.”

Intel confident in its technology

Intel has flown about 500 drones at the same time in one-off shows, setting a Guinness World Record. It will be a whole new challenge for Intel to run a show for months, as drones need to be well-coordinated so that they do not come crashing down. The chip maker said that a light show can be done now in a matter of days, rather than weeks or months, with the improved interface and software.

Walden said there is no limit to the number of drones that the chip maker can fly in a coordinated fashion. The homegrown Shooting Star, which was used in the 500-drone display, will be flying in Disney’s light show.

Intel is still not selling the drone that it is using, but it is offering other drones such as the Falcon 8+. In addition, the chip maker will sell drones from MaVinci, which it recently bought, says PC World. Walden says that the chip maker developed the Shooting Star drone and supporting software for light shows.

The drones fly at a speed of 10m/s, and on the ground, they communicate with controller PCs. The drones do not communicate with each other. Algorithms track the flight path of a drone and draw the animation in mid-air.

Leave a Comment