The story behind Lady Gaga's Super Bowl LED Drones
Our tireless investigative news team uncovers the facts behind the LED drones that formed a fluttering U.S. flag and the Pepsi logo during the Super Bowl LI halftime show:
Hundreds of drones flying in formation appeared at the beginning of Lady Gaga's performance, and quickly became the talk of the Internet.
Drone make and model: Intel Shooting Star quadcopter with encased propellers
Dimensions: 15.1" x 15.1" x 3.7"
Weight: 0.6 lbs
photo credit: Intel Corporation
Quantity used: 300 drones
Light color: The Intel Shooting Star drones feature built-in LED lights that can create over 4 billion color combinations in the sky.
Communication: Each drone communicates wirelessly with a central computer to execute its dance routine, oblivious to what the hundreds of machines around it are doing.
Operation: All 300 drones can be controlled by one computer and one drone pilot. However, there is always a second pilot on hand as backup.
Restricted airspace: The drone show was prerecorded since FAA didn't allow any drones to fly within 34 miles of NRG Stadium on the day of the big game. Furthermore, Intel received a special waiver from the FAA to fly the fleet up to 700 feet. Intel also received an additional special waiver to fly the drones in the more restrictive class B airspace.
Drone deployment explained and demonstrated:
In case you missed it -- or you want to re-experience its glory, here is the full video of Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Halftime Performance
Bonus video: Bad Romance ... Rah rah ah-ah-ah!
Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/lady-gaga-halftime-s...
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets...