Choreographed Micro Drone Technology Wows at Dubai Mall’s 10 Year Celebration

A highly impressive and mesmerizing display of dancing drones has the public spellbound at the Dubai Mall’s part of its 10 Year Celebrations this month. Zurich-based Verity Studios, a global leader in indoor drone technology, has worked alongside Lune Rouge Entertainment, the new company created by Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil for this unique display of dancing drones.

Titled Talisman, the show is running daily until 28th November, with 44 autonomous Dancing drones swarm around a pillar of LED screens. The Lucie® micro drones fly together to form clusters of light, flying strobes and even fireworks in the Star Atrium, in a beautifully choreographed performance, accompanied by projections, lasers and film.

Weighing just 50g, the micro drones are fitted with high intensity, pre-programmable RGBW lights and can be safely flown above the heads of artists and audiences in virtually any indoor environment. The Lucie micro drones fly their pre-programmed choreographies autonomously, meaning a single operator can launch any number of drones. Enabling the micro drones to locate themselves in space and perform their choreographies is Verity’s proprietary indoor positioning system. As part of this system, Kedge™ localization units accurately define the boundaries of the flight space and act as satellites in what is effectively an indoor GPS.

Raffaello D’Andrea, founder and CEO of Verity Studios, explains: “The Dubai Mall show is a beautiful display of moving art – and we have created a performance worthy of the 10th anniversary. It’s been fantastic to work alongside Lune Rouge Entertainment, the new company created by Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, and help the team there deliver their first-ever show in the Middle East.”

According to the Veritas website the system can be integrated with stage architecture and offers clients ultimate flexibility, with no requirement for carpets, cameras or line of sight. The turnkey system means sophisticated shows can be operated directly by client staff.

A press release of Verity studios stated, “Verity Studios is constantly looking to push the boundaries of drone technology as a creative medium and Talisman is a compelling example of what can be achieved by incorporating drone technology with other, more traditional effects. We’ll continue to pioneer industry-changing developments for the live events market.”

Verity drones have been used by some of the world’s biggest entertainment providers, including Cirque du Soleil and Madison Square Garden, and have performed on stage as part of global tours for major artists including Drake and Metallica.

Verity’s clients have completed more than 40,000 autonomous flights safely above people, across more than 20 countries worldwide. The Zurich-based private company was spun off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in 2014. Its founder Raffaello D’Andrea has more than 20 years of experience in the creation of flying machines and autonomous robots. He also was a co-founder of Boston-based Kiva Systems, which was acquired by Amazon in 2012 and is now operating as Amazon Robotics.