{{Short description|Images drawn in the sky by drones carrying colored lights}} thumb|right|Crowds watch a drone show at the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle. [[File:500 drones launch to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1st man’s flight to space. The Show was performed by Geoscan Drone Show.jpg|thumb|A drone launch in Russia to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight to space in 1961]] [[File:Funchal, New Year's Eve (drone show) 4.jpg|thumb|right|Drone show on New Year's Eve at the harbor of Funchal (Madeira)]]
'''Drone art''' (also known as '''drone display''' or '''drone light show''') is the use of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), often quadcopters which fly in a coordinated fashion with light fixtures attached. They are usually equipped with multiple LEDs and the display is held at night.
Drone light shows differ from fireworks displays in that drones are reusable;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zerlenga |first1=Ornella |last2=Cirillo |first2=Vincenzo |last3=Iaderosa |first3=Rosina |date=2021 |title=Once Upon a Time there were Fireworks. The New Nocturnal Drones Light Shows |journal=Img Journal |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=402–425 |doi=10.6092/issn.2724-2463/12628 |doi-access=free}}</ref> they do not produce air and noise pollution.<ref name="wired.com" /> However, drone displays cannot happen during rain or strong winds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lighted drone show sparkles and wows crowd at EAA AirVenture |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2018/07/27/drone-light-show-lights-up-evening-air-show-oshkosh/845104002/ |publisher=}}</ref>
== History == The first drone display was presented in June 2012 in Cannes, France; Marshmallow Laser Feast presented ''Meet Your Creator'' at the ''Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase'' for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Intel has produced the Shooting Star, a type of drone used in light shows.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-celebrates-lgbtq-pride-2018-drone-light-show/|title=Intel Celebrates LGBTQ Pride 2018 with Drone Light Show - Intel Newsroom|work=Intel Newsroom |publisher=}}</ref> The drones were used during the 2018 Winter Olympics, a Super Bowl halftime show in 2017, and a 2018 Fourth of July celebration.<ref name="wired.com">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/more-inclusive-fourth-of-july-drone-show/|title=A Fourth of July Drone Show Helps Military Families With Special Needs|magazine=Wired|publisher=|last1=Barrett|first1=Brian}}</ref>
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 the disturbance of dogs and people with PTSD.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2023/07/03/1185815745/air-quality-fireworks-smoke-july-fourth-drone-displays Fireworks can make bad air quality even worse. For some cities, the answer is drones]</ref> Concerns about safety have also emerged in response to malfunctioning of public drone light displays, such as prior to a match in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, 350 of the 500 performing drones plunged into the water due to a glitch.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crowe |first=Ashleigh McMillan, Alex |date=2023-07-15 |title=Yarra 1, drones 0: Unmanned aerial vehicles plunge into water during Matildas light display |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/yarra-1-drones-0-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-plunge-into-water-during-matildas-light-display-20230715-p5dogu.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref>
In December 2024, a missing flight path information led to some of drones to collide into each other in a 500-drone Orlando, Florida show.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=FOX 35 Digital |date=2025-01-16 |title=Missing flight path file led to loss of control of Orlando Christmas drone show: NTSB report |url=https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/sky-elements-orlando-drone-show-failure-report-ntsb |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=FOX 35 Orlando |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-17 |title=NTSB Preliminary report on Lake Eola Light Show incident |url=https://www.suasnews.com/2025/01/ntsb-preliminary-report-on-lake-eola-light-show-incident/ |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=sUAS News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Many drones fell; one of them landed on a seven-year-old boy, causing heart damage that required an open-heart surgery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tsui |first=Karina |last2=Jackson |first2=Amanda |last3=Ellis |first3=Nicquel Terry |date=2024-12-23 |title=Boy in hospital after drones fall from sky at Orlando holiday show |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/23/us/orlando-holiday-drone-show-ends-with-technical-difficulties-systems-falling-from-the-sky |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
==Drone displays== {{Main article|List of drone displays}}
Drone displays are typically used for entertainment or advertising. The drones may use flocking or swarming behaviour.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=17 September 2018 |title=Swarm of drones illuminates the night sky |url=https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/studio-drift-franchise-freedom-smart-creativity/index.html |publisher=}}</ref> Real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) technology is used for precise relative positioning of the drones<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grub |first=Kevin |date=2025-12-24 |title=RTK for Drones: Ultimate Precision Explained |url=https://rtkdata.com/rtk-for-drones/ |access-date=2026-01-08 |language=en}}</ref> to centimeter scale or better. Each drone has a preprogrammed flight path for its role in producing the images.
Drone shows are using more and more drones every year as technology advances. Listed below are those notable for breaking records, using new technologies, or otherwise gaining significance. For a more comprehensive overview, see List of drone displays.
{| class="wikitable" ! Date ! Location ! Notes |- | 2015 | Linz, Austria | ''Drone100'' at Ars Electronica in collaboration with Intel, one of the first large-scale shows using 100 SPAXELS LED drones. |- | 2018 | Pyeongchang, South Korea | Opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics, featuring 1,218 drones and setting a world record at the time. |- | 2020 | Zhuhai, China | Guinness World Record with 3,051 drones flown simultaneously. |- | 2023 | New Delhi, India | Beating Retreat ceremony with 3,500 drones, one of the largest shows worldwide. |- | 2024 | Shenzhen, China | Record-breaking display with 10,197 drones, the largest number flown simultaneously from a single computer system and the largest aerial images formed by drones. |}
== Drone teams == * Ars Electronica Futurelab
==See also== * Aerial advertising * Son et lumière (show) * Laser lighting display * Light art * Swarm robotics
==References== {{Commons category|Drone display}} {{reflist}}
{{Branches of the visual arts}} {{Robotics}} {{emerging technologies|displays=yes}} {{Display technology}}
Category:Multi-robot systems Category:Light art Category:Unmanned aerial vehicles