Intel’s Olympic drone light show just set a world record and looked awesome

By Lulu Chang Published February 10, 2018

Over the course of the next two weeks, there will be dizzying stunts, high-flying acrobatics, and record-breaking heights attained — oh, and the Olympic athletes will compete, too. The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang opened in seriously impressive fashion, with more than 1,200 Intel Shooting Star drones serving as the stars of the show. The 1,218 drones set a new Guinness World Record for the most drones flown simultaneously, and Intel notes that its advanced drone technology will be making appearances and “enhance the Olympic Games through 2024.”

The Intel drones’ performance marked the first-ever time that a Winter Olympics’ saw a drone light show, and also won recognition as “most unmanned aerial vehicles airborne simultaneously.” While the world record flight was actually prerecorded for the event, it doesn’t lessen the impressiveness of the feat. Previously, the record for the most drones flown at once was 500 in Germany in 2016. But for these Olympic games, Intel designed and produced custom animations that will be seen not only at the Opening Ceremony, but at nightly victory ceremony performances as well. We’ll soon be privy to animations of various sports and Olympic logos — of course, we’ll see the drones form the Olympic rings throughout the games, too.

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“The Olympics are a time when the sports and entertainment industries are buzzing with record-setting performances, so it was the perfect stage for Intel Shooting Star drones and our team to set their own kind of record,” said Natalie Cheung, general manager of Intel’s drone light show team.

Intel specifically designed its Shooting Star drone as the first to be created specifically for the purpose of entertainment light shows. These special drones are outfitted with LED lights capable of creating more than four billion color combinations. And with the right programming, they can create just about any animation a creative mind desires.

“We are honored to have Intel drones playing several roles at the Olympic Games,” said Anil Nanduri, vice president and general manager, Intel Drone Group. “Not unlike the athletes competing in the events, we continue to push to innovate and develop the drone technologies that inspire people all over the world.”

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