The opening ceremony of any Olympics is always one to behold and this year’s Winter Olympic at Pyeongchang was no exception. This year, Intel stole the show with its majestic display of its Shooting Star Drones. The 1,218 drones set a new world record for most drones flown simultaneously as they graced the skyline, forming huge and memorable images of the Olympic rings. This was reminiscent of the Super Bowl show in which 300 drones flew simultaneously during Lady Gaga’s halftime show, only that this time it was bigger, much bigger!

Last-Minute Hitches

Intel’s initial plan had been to fly the 1,218 drones live but it was forced to adjust its plan at the last minute due to some challenges that made it impossible to do so. The tech giant had to resort to a pre-recorded clip, but it was just as amazing. According to the Olympics organizing committee, the number of spectators standing directly below the venue of the drone show was too big and flying the drones over them would be risky. The winter weather conditions of South Korea also didn’t make it any easier for the Silicon Valley tech company.

The spectators were however treated to 300 live drones that made an appearance at the opening ceremony. These drones have continued to make appearances daily during the awards ceremony, giving the spectators a chance to witness the marvel every day.

Intel breaks its Own Record

Intel is clearly competing with itself, with the beautiful display breaking the record that Intel had set in Germany back in 2016.  The previous record stood at 500 drones, but this year’s display more than doubled it. The drones are controlled by one person, making the spectacle even more astounding. Each drone is independent and communicates with a central computer which choreographs the whole show. It determines which drone plays which role according to the energy in the battery and the strength of its GPS system.

The wintery conditions in Pyeongchang made it especially difficult to fly the Shooting Star drones. The first was the violent winds and Intel had to tweak the design of the rotor cages to keep the drones stable in these windy conditions. The second challenge was the freezing temperatures which affect the condition of the batteries. Intel met this by fine-tuning their storage systems to mitigate the damage of the extreme temperatures.

Intel plans on scaling the production of its Shooting Star Drones in the future to perform such functions as search and rescue. In the meantime, the Shooting Stars will continue to entertain audiences around the world.