Fireworks are primitive. How can modern man still be lighting the blue touch paper and relying on smelly, smokey chemicals to produce a flash and a bang? Intel's CEO thinks it's time for something new. Enter 100 drones flying under computer control.

" Drones will replace fireworks"

is a statement that Intel CEO Brian Krzanich made at this year's CES. Most of us think drones are going to be big in delivery and for taking aerial video, but fireworks?

To prove the point  Krzanich asked marketing director of perceptual computing, Anil Nanduri, what he would do with 100 flying drones. The answer was a live light show to the sound of a symphony orchestra playing Beethoven's 5th. The show was not only impressive, it was a Guinness World record for swarms of drones. 

There is a video that claims to show you how it was done, but it is very thin on technical detail.

So what do you think?

Drones as fireworks?

It is obvious that the cost per drone is going to have to come down to enable lots of organized displays. The software is also going to have to be easier to use to cut down the number of people involved. From the details we have, there doesn't seem to have been any AI incorporated into the software. What about using "flocking" algorithms to create improvised effects like Starlings? 

Finally, there is the question of payload. The 100 drone experiment used lights that seem bright enough, but are there any options that could make a wider range of effects?  

More Information

100 Dancing Drones Set World Record

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