Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that the amazing festival of light that is Vivid Sydney, is on right now. While its impressive on its own, there’s on crowning jewel that’s about to make it even better.
Drone 100 is Intel’s world-record-holding drone performance, that’s coming to Vivid for 5 nights only, from 8 to 12 June.
100 illuminated drones will perform a spectacular choreographed routine over Sydney Harbour, accompanied by the sounds of the Sydney Youth Orchestra.
When its inaugural flight took place in November 2015 in Hamburg, Germany, Drone 100 set a Guinness World Record for the most number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying simultaneously. Now, Drone 100 will push the limits of what it has previously achieved, performing for the first time ever above water, in front of a live, public audience in the heart of a major city with the Sydney Opera House sails as a backdrop for this unique performance.
Weather permitting, Drone 100 will light up the skies above Sydney Harbour in a 7-minute performance each night starting at 7:55 p.m. Flying in dynamic formation, the drones will showcase different shapes and colours to reveal a never-seen-before bespoke animation designed specifically for the Sydney performance.
As complex as this display of art and technology appears, amazingly, the Drone 100 sequence is controlled by just one main pilot.
Intel’s GM of unmanned aviation systems, Anil Nanduri said,
“With drones quickly emerging as an important computing platform of the future, Drone 100 exemplifies what it means to reinvent experiences with new technology.
Drone 100 will capture the imagination of all who see it. Through this experience, we hope to inspire the imagination of Vivid Sydney festival goers and highlight the future potential of drone technology.”
Intel will set up a VIP viewing area for this special event on the eastern side of the Opera House podium overlooking Farm Cove. For those interested in seeing Drone 100, Intel will release a limited number of tickets for each of the five nightly performances to be viewed from this prime harbour-side position. All tickets will be free of charge, with a maximum of two tickets allocated per person.
You’ll find the details on how to secure tickets on Intel’s Drone 100 Facebook event page.
With drones being so sensitive to weather conditions like wind and rain, Intel are making it clear, there’s some big caveats on this demonstration – performances on any given night are not guaranteed.
Aside from showcasing creative expression, Drone 100 highlights the exciting future of UAVs, including the different ways they could be integrated into different industries.
Examples include:
- Infrastructure inspection and repairs of tall structures, such as bridges and towers
- Bushfire management, inspection and eradication
- Search and rescue, including bush and oceans
- Fast delivery of medicines and medical equipment in emergencies
- Crop inspection across hundreds of hectares of land, including pests and irrigation
Going beyond the light show, the future potential of Drones in society will also be discussed at a Vivid Ideas Panel on 8 June 2016: Drones for Good.
For more information, visit http://www.vividsydney.com/event/light/drone-100
