A “record-setting” light display consisting of 1,218 drones was revealed during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Friday.
Though Wired notes that similar drone displays “have taken place before,” the display featured during the opening ceremony is reportedly “record-setting,” and other drone displays will be revealed “nightly for the medal ceremonies.”
“The drones can typically fly for a little under 20 minutes, given the limitations of current lithium-ion battery technology,” Wired explained. “They also generally launch at a bit of a distance from the actual performance area, cutting showtime even tighter. But those handicaps apply equally to any drone show.”
During the show, the 1,218 drones moved into the form of a snowboarder, before becoming the Olympic Rings.
“In order to create a real and lifelike version of the snowboarder with more than 1,200 drones, our animation team used a photo of a real snowboarder in action to get the perfect outline and shape in the sky,” claimed Intel’s general manager of drone light shows, Natalie Cheung.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington, or like his page at Facebook.