{"id":6755,"date":"2023-10-20T16:22:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/?p=6755"},"modified":"2023-10-20T16:22:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:22:59","slug":"drone-light-shows-are-becoming-more-sophisticated-and-popular-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/drone-light-shows-are-becoming-more-sophisticated-and-popular-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Drone Light Shows Are Becoming More Sophisticated and Popular Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hPjfGfFUhaw?si=PA5JY8yPJq0H0lov\" width=\"740\" height=\"415\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><br \/>\nFor many Americans, especially children, fireworks displays are a quintessential part of an annual holiday celebration \u2013 especially the Fourth of July.\u00a0 The sight and sound of rockets exploding and soaring across the night sky are a visceral reminder of the nation\u2019s battle for its freedom and independence.\u00a0 Cities and towns spend enormous sums on these seasonal events, and each year try to find new ways to outdo the previous year\u2019s display.\u00a0 As well they should.<\/p>\n<p>But fireworks displays aren\u2019t safe and comfortable for everyone.\u00a0 They are extremely noisy and sometimes scare and traumatize bystanders \u2013 including elders, war veterans and children, as well as pets.\u00a0 They also spread thick choking smoke and spread litter everywhere, requiring extensive clean-up.\u00a0 Worst of all, burning fireworks embers can land in dry grass, starting uncontrolled blazes.\u00a0 In recent years, fireworks displays in a number of locales have been blamed for igniting massive wildfires, resulting in extensive property damage.<\/p>\n<p>This past summer, several cities in southern California and a few elsewhere \u2013 concerned about the threat posed by wildfires during the dry hot summer months \u2013 took an extraordinary step:\u00a0 they decided to cancel their fireworks displays. But they didn\u2019t cancel the fun.\u00a0 Instead, they turned to drones.<\/p>\n<p>Drone \u201clight shows\u201d \u2013 less dazzling to some, but even more so, to others \u2013 are becoming not just a national sensation but a global one.\u00a0 The current worldwide market stands at roughly $1.2 billion \u2013 up from virtually zero two years ago \u2013 but is expected to double by next year.\u00a0 Some long-standing fireworks suppliers, sensing a shift in the market, have begun purchasing drones and hiring pilots to fly them.\u00a0 Others are joining the market for the first time; still others have decided to hold off \u2013 for now.\u00a0 But with demands for compliance with public and environmental health standards growing \u2013 and drone technology still evolving \u2013 the rising consumer trend is unmistakable.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s involved?\u00a0 With the proper training, designing and managing a drone light show is actually quite simple.\u00a0 All it takes is a fleet of small highly agile drones affixed with LED lights and a remote data system\u00a0 that can synchronize their movements in flight. The main cost is the technical engineering that goes into translating a visual concept for a show into its actual choreography. It requires some sophisticated sensor-based programming, but by today\u2019s standards, it\u2019s not rocket science.\u00a0 Drone designers are performing far more sophisticated operations in a growing number of drone commercial niches.\u00a0 Still, ensuring flawless synchronization and continuous movement \u2013 over a period of 15-20 minutes or more \u2013 to achieve the desired visual effect is no small feat.<\/p>\n<p>And the hardware can be expensive \u2013 usually $250 or more per drone \u2013 costs which add up quickly. A drone light show with a minimum of razzle-dazzle will require at least fifty drones, but more likely a few hundred, and maybe even 500. That\u2019s $125,000 just for the hardware.\u00a0 But it all depends.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a show depicting a succession of multicolored images of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Liberty Bell \u2013 with accompanying theme music \u2013 is fairly easy to accomplish technically \u2013 and relatively cheap.\u00a0 Presenting mobile images \u2013 George Washington riding a galloping horse, for example, or drone light rockets soaring and falling just like fireworks \u2013 is more involved.\u00a0 Having drone lights skip and dance to the syncopated beat of live music?\u00a0 Costly \u2013 but doable.\u00a0 Some of the latest and most expensive events incorporate such design elements.<\/p>\n<p>A recent example of a Midwestern town embracing the drone light show experience is Lincoln, Nebraska.\u00a0 In September, the university of Nebraska hired Fantasy Drone Shows based in nearby Norfolk to perform a simple feat:\u00a0 Hover over a nighttime football game being played at the university\u2019s Memorial Stadium to announce the sold-out attendance to the fans.\u00a0 The company, formed just a year ago by a team of renegades from a well-known regional fireworks company, took to the task with relish.<\/p>\n<p>At 8:30 p.m. 150 Fantasy Drone Show drones suddenly appeared in the northeast corner of the stadium to proclaim the news in large bright lights:\u00a0 \u201c92, 003.\u201d\u00a0 The crowd, unprepared for the spectacle, went wild, as the stadium announcer alerted them to the display.<\/p>\n<p>It was just the start of something big.\u00a0 Fantasy Drones subsequently performed a more elaborate display at the state\u2019s annual Volleyball Day and then returned to Memorial Stadium to perform a display on September 30.\u00a0 The University athletics department says the drone shows are a huge hit, and budget permitting, plans to make them a regular part of stadium sporting events.<\/p>\n<p>Fantasy Drones is typical of some of the start-ups that are jumping into the drone light show market heads first.\u00a0 Owner Don Wisniesky sold his insulation business and a few rental properties to get the company going.\u00a0 And with a few successes under his belt, he\u2019s already purchased another 200 drones.\u00a0 His ultimate goal is to expand his fleet to 1,200 and to offer his company\u2019s services nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more drones you get, the more things you can do,\u201d Wisniesky told the <em>Norfolk Daily News<\/em> last week.<\/p>\n<p>Drone light shows aren\u2019t just for small towns and their local sports teams, of course.\u00a0 A growing number of major league football, baseball and soccer teams are beginning to hire drone light show companies to highlight their events.\u00a0 And major corporations are beginning to promote their brands with elaborate light shows that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars \u2013 in some cases, millions.\u00a0 Tens of thousands of people view these events on site but their avid promotion online is amplifying their exposure still further.\u00a0 What began as a niche experiment \u2013 and as a replacement for fireworks \u2013 is fast becoming a major new drone niche that is just beginning to fulfill its true potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff For many Americans, especially children, fireworks displays are a quintessential part of an annual holiday celebration \u2013 especially the Fourth of July.\u00a0 The sight and sound of rockets exploding and soaring across the night sky are a visceral reminder of the nation\u2019s battle for its freedom and independence.\u00a0 Cities and towns spend enormous sums&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/drone-light-shows-are-becoming-more-sophisticated-and-popular-than-ever\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,21],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronevideos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}