Intel Shoots for the Stars With Drone Light Show at Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony
It was a fitting closure to what has been the sparkle in PyeongChang for this year’s Winter Olympics. After dazzling the audience and athletes alike with a record-breaking 1200 drone light show for the opening ceremony of PyeonChang 2018, Intel celebrated the triumphs of competing athletes for this year’s games with an aerial performance using a drone swarm of 300 ‘Shooting Star’ drones.
A myriad of aerial animations were featured in last night’s performance, including the Winter Olympics mascot ‘Soohorang’, a white tiger, who pounced above the crowd-filled stadium who cheered on jubilant athletes and the drone light show in equal fervour. Soohorang then morphed into a heart symbolising the gratitude and love for Olympic athletes who had travelled from around the world to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
The drone light shows created for this year’s Olympics have been the culmination of many previous, smaller performances such as that at CES2018 earlier this year. The Intel Shooting Star drones were developed especially for the purpose of entertaining audiences, made of lightweight materials and carrying LED lights with countless colour possibilities. However the team at Intel needed to make be sure they would withstand the conditions before performing at PyeongChang. “We had a team that went to the Alps to test in negative 10-15 degrees C, basically with standard conditions to find out what’s possible,” explained Madeleine Ong, Project Manager of the Intel Drone Light Show Team.
Although the 1200-strong performance of the opening ceremony had to be cancelled due to adverse conditions (a pre-recorded performance made the Guiness World Records instead), the team were thrilled to successfully tie up the Winter Olympic Games with their aerial animation display.
Natalie Cheung | Intel
“Just like Soohorang, our Intel drones team has a challenging spirit and passion to push the limits and make amazing experiences possible,” said Natalie Cheung, General Manager of the Intel Drone Light Show team. “It’s been an honor to celebrate such magnificent athleticism and teamwork with Intel drone light shows, and a victory for us to see our animations of the games come to life.”
With a TOP partnership now in place until 2024 between Intel and the International Olympic Committee, we can expect to see more spectacular light shows in the future. With the intention of reinventing how people experience sports on a global scale, Intel have introduced not only drone light shows but also virtual reality technology, allowing the audience to go one step further than a spectator by becoming immersed in VR action. See below more information on the tech and the team. headed by Natalie Cheung and Madeleine Ong. behind Intel drone light shows.
