“The World According to Jeff Goldblum” is a National Geographic miniseries that’s playing on Disney+. One of the episodes highlight’s Intel’s drone swarm as an alternative to conventional fireworks. Intel’s “Queen of Drones” Natalie Cheung and Jeff Goldblum are in the episode (Fig. 1), but I was able to talk to Shilpa R. Patel, Intel’s Project Manager for this massive collection of drones, to get the engineering story behind the scenes.
What’s the best thing about managing a fleet of drones?
Without a doubt, it’s seeing the audience staring up at the drones in amazement. They see innovation in the sky and wonder, how do they do that? People are captivated by the colors and movements, children especially. Behind the scenes, lots of people are hard at work making the show happen. From aviation permits and site planning to concept design, animation, and staging, the process often takes months of meticulous planning. To see it all come together, and the audience react with such enthusiasm, is just an incredibly thrilling experience.
The Intel drone light show team is constantly innovating and pushing limits both creatively and technically. We’ve performed over 1,000 displays in more than 23 countries and every performance poses its own unique set of challenges (Fig. 2). What animations best represent the story we are trying to tell? How can we compensate for site features like ambient light or tall buildings? Every situation brings a new opportunity to innovate.
2. Intel Shooting Star drones fly above the stage during the ODESZA’s performance on Sunday, April 15, 2018, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. The Intel Coachella Drone Light Show powered by HP Workstation performed during the annual music and arts event. (Credit: Intel Corp.)
Intel is lucky to have built a fantastic team, so we’re able to bring our learnings and insights with us from show to show—stretching back for years. Seeing how Intel innovation translates into magic in the sky is another highlight of this job.
Can you give us an overview of the drone hardware and how they manage their position?
Our drones are more aerodynamic than previous generations, meaning they can fly faster; make quicker, more agile transitions; and have an increased tolerance for wind. Purpose-built for safety, Intel drones weigh just 340 grams and feature a soft-plastic construction with a Styrofoam cap.
Intel drones use real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS for positional accuracy. This technology enables us to create exceptionally detailed 3D animations even in small air spaces. These next-generation drones feature four high-powered LEDs that can produce over four billion color combinations in brilliant and true-to-color light.
What type of software is running on each drone? How do the drones cooperate?
Developed by Intel specifically for Intel drone light shows, our cutting-edge software enables one pilot with a laptop to manage an entire fleet of hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of drones.
The control center software assesses airworthiness of each drone and displays that information at the launchpad (by flashing the drone’s LED lights red or green) and through telemetry at the control center, where the pilot can quickly scan the display for any issues with the drones.
The animation software is loaded onto the drones before they launch. This software tells the drone when and where to be, and it defines two virtual geofences so that the drones know when they are in compliance or where there’s an issue with their flightpath.
Is it just a preprogrammed pattern or something more?
There’s definitely more! It’s a fascinating creative process that blends world-class artistry with the latest drone technology. Every show begins with a vision. Using sketches, storyboards, and music development, the Intel creative team collaborates with clients to design concepts into spectacular stories. Using 3D modeling and animation software, Intel can animate words, logos, shapes, animals, you name it, into beautiful aerial formations composed of hundreds, even thousands, of drones.
This customized animation software allows the Intel creative team to design, test, and simulate the animations quickly and efficiently. By automating parts of this process with software libraries, Intel can have an entire performance ready for client review within weeks. Intel software also helps promote safety by looking for collision-free trajectories between both the drones themselves and physical obstacles such as buildings.
What type of software is used to design and manage the fleet?
Developed by Intel specifically for our shows, our cutting-edge performance control software enables a single computer to manage an entire fleet of hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of drones.
How do you handle having one or more drones drop out?
One or more drones are barely imperceptible in a field of hundreds or thousands. The overall visual effect isn’t changed by a few drones.
We have controlled landing descent, or emergency landing, programmed into all our drones. This allows us to send emergency commands from the controller, or home station, to all of the drones, should we ever need to recall them.
How do you land the fleet?
The new drones fly back to the launchpads at the end of the animation (Fig. 3).
3. A behind-the-scenes look at performing an Intel Drone Light Show at Dollywood. (Credit: Intel Corp.)
Why are drone fireworks just as good—if not better—than the combustible kind?
Our award-winning drone light shows are a memorable, ecologically friendly form of entertainment. For many communities, fireworks pose real pollution and safety concerns such as wildfire risks, noise pollution, and litter from spent plastic casings. As a result, many cities have banned traditional firework shows.
Intel drones, in contrast, are reusable, rechargeable, require no combustion chemicals, and are virtually noise-free.
What was it like to work with Jeff Goldblum?
He’s very personable and constantly on the go. At first it was difficult to understand if he was serious or joking around. After about 10 minutes of watching him in action, you realize that this guy is very smart. He’s a very curious person. He genuinely wanted to learn and soak up the information about the drone light shows as much as possible. It was very interesting to see how quickly he was able to relate the information to other aspects of the world.
Why will tech-heads like the show?
Intel engineers push the boundaries of drone light-show technology by continually innovating, iterating, and improving our hardware and software. From next-generation drones and recently redesigned launchpads to cutting-edge animation and performance software, tech enthusiasts will find the show educational, enlightening, and sprinkled with Jeff Goldblum’s entertaining, whimsical wonder and curiosity.
