What’s the future of drone light shows in events?

[negimonika2508]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this community and really curious about your thoughts.

Lately, I’ve been closely observing drone light shows, and it’s fascinating how they bring together hundreds of drones, GPS, software, and choreography to paint pictures in the sky. It’s like flying pixels telling a story.

Some points I’d love to discuss with you all:

• Have you ever seen a drone light show live (or even been part of one)?
• How do you feel they compare to fireworks in terms of safety, cost, and experience?
• From a pilot’s perspective, what challenges do you think are the hardest: battery management, signal reliability, or flight permissions?
• Do you think these shows will become common at festivals, weddings, or national celebrations?

Would love to hear your experiences and insights, whether from the tech side or as an audience member.

 

[Daniel Mclean]

Hi, @ negimonika2508, I have never seen a drone light show, but I have seen many photos of them, and they are truly amazing!
I think that both fireworks and drone light shows are both similar in the pros and cons, but maybe drone light shows are not as safe because of the potential for a malfunction/crash to occur.
I think the biggest challenges would be battery management and flight permissions. Even though each drone might be the same and have the same batteries, their flight time will always be slightly different, leading to difficulties keeping each drone up for the same amount of time. Also, most light shows are done above large cities, and this could pose a safety hazard for those under the drones.
In my opinion, as drone tech is ever evolving, that done light shows for events like festivals, weddings, and national celebrations will most certainly become a popular thing to do.
Hope that helps,
Daniel M

 

[Rchawks]

I’ve never seen a drone light show in person, but I’m done with watching firework display’s because of all the smoke it generates. It’s a bit much, especially here.

 

[Ralph thompson]

IMO fireworks are a rediculous waste of money. Drone light shows are amazing but they are all preprogrammed, totally automated and therefore fly well within a safe tolerance of battery life. However a lot crash into each other, several per show and so must be conducted over a safe area, not over people. Authorization is tricky because although State approval is needed (SFOC for Canada) local authorities have a final say (no standards there).

 

[hank970]

IMO fireworks are a rediculous waste of money. Drone light shows are amazing but they are all preprogrammed, totally automated and therefore fly well within a safe tolerance of battery life. However a lot crash into each other, several per show and so must be conducted over a safe area, not over people. Authorization is tricky because although State approval is needed (SFOC for Canada) local authorities have a final say (no standards there).

But, but, but... Part 108 will require that all drones be capable of "strategic deconfliction," a fancy way of saying that they shouldn't bump into one another.