Drone art (also known as drone display or drone light show) is the use of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), often quadcopters, flying in a coordinated fashion with light fixtures attached. They are usually equipped with multiple LEDs, and the display is held at night. The first drone display was presented in 2012 in Linz/Austria, where the Ars Electronica Futurelab introduced SPAXELS (short for "space elements") for the first time. The displays may be for entertainment, where the drones may use flocking or swarming behaviour.[1] The drones may also be coordinated to produce images. Using this emerging technology, displays have been employed for advertising purposes as well.
Intel has produced the Shooting Star, a type of drone used in light shows.[2] They were used during the 2018 Winter Olympics, a Super Bowl halftime show in 2017, and a 2018 Fouth of July celebration.[3]
Drone light shows differ from fireworks displays in that drones are reusable, and do not produce air and noise pollution.[3] However, drone displays cannot take place during rain or strong winds.[4] In the 2020s, some cities in the United States replaced Independence Day fireworks displays with drone or laser light shows, to reduce fire risk, air pollution, and disturbance of dogs and people with PTSD.[5] Concerns about safety have also emerged in response to malfunctioning of public drone light displays, such as when prior to a match in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, 350 of the 500 performing drones plunged into water due to a glitch.[6]
