Yes, those were drones in Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show
Intel's 300 Shooting Star drones took to the sky during performance
If you happened to catch Lady Gaga's halftime show at the Super Bowl last night, you were treated to a pretty amazing light show. While you may have thought it was achieved using digital special effects, it wasn't.
Those were 300 drones flying in unison.
Meet Intel's Shooting Star drones, what they call "a new type of unmanned aerial vehicle." The drones are designed specifically for entertainment purposes and are equipped with LED lights capable of creating more than four billion colour combinations. They've already been used at Walt Disney World, but Super Bowl show was their largest audience yet.
Did you see those <a href="https://twitter.com/intel">@intel</a> drones light it up? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PepsiHalfTime?src=hash">#PepsiHalfTime</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SB51?src=hash">#SB51</a> <a href="https://t.co/cyNtRhZ2II">pic.twitter.com/cyNtRhZ2II</a>
—@NFL(In case you missed it, you can watch the performance here.)
"Lady Gaga and the Super Bowl creative team wanted to pull off something that had never been done before and we were able to combine Intel drone innovation with her artistry to pull off a truly unique experience," Josh Walden, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's New Technology Group said in a statement.
Amazingly those 300 drones were controlled by just one computer and one pilot (however, a second is on hand as back-up).
If only our drones could drop the mic. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PepsiHalfTime?src=hash">#PepsiHalfTime</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ExperienceMore?src=hash">#ExperienceMore</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SB51?src=hash">#SB51</a> <a href="https://t.co/VEVuNEe9Ex">pic.twitter.com/VEVuNEe9Ex</a>
—@intelThe Super Bowl performance was the highest altitude Intel's drones have ever flown — 700 feet — and even required a special waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration.
How is it done? The company uses a computer program with a special algorithm that can calculate how many drones are needed, their placement, as well as flight paths. And amazingly, the software animation can map out a performance in a matter of days or weeks, depending on the show's complexity.
And while those watching the Super Bowl live at NRG stadium were likely disappointed that they couldn't see the dancing drones for themselves above the stage, they didn't actually miss out on anything: it was taped a week earlier.