100 Drones Will Be Part of 2018 Radio City Christmas Spectacular
One hundred Intel drones will be joining the cast of the Rockettes in the annual Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. The Star Mini drones should show up near the show’s finale based around the Northern Star. Sam Buntrock, the Spectacular’s director, states that the drones will act as tiny points in candles and the Christmas tree, following the North Star in an original story.
This will be a big tech upgrade for the New York City holiday tradition. With drones and one of the biggest 8K LED display and digital projections made by Obscura Digital, it is sure to be spectacular. Intel has done similar work with drones at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Lady Gaga. The Radio City show will also be including 3D glasses in the performance.
The 2018 Spectacular is set to begin showing from November 1 through January 1. The Radio City sponsored event will have real animals such as donkeys, sheep and camels that eat hay and roam the streets of Manhattan at night as a form of exercise. For Intel, they are hoping the publicity will be good for their image.
The drones themselves are customized and designed to produce various color combinations. Each drone weighs only 8 ounces and are largely made from styrofoam. Pre-programmed algorithms allow one pilot to control all of the drones without the need to use GPS. The Rockettes show will be repeated 200 times all throughout the holiday season. The 2018 Spectacular will run 30 times a week and act as a continuation to the time honored tradition since it began in 1933.
However, it’s not clear whether the drones will be allowed to be near the audience during the show. FAA regulations aren’t particularly strict when it comes to flying drones indoors, but there could be repercussions if a malfunction was to take place. In the Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas, Intel had Shooting Star drones hover over the heads of the audience to sell the product’s many features, which include reliability, lightness and safety, among others. You can be sure thought that the show’s producers will have their audience’s safety in mind.
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