halftime drone
Lady Gaga's halftime drones are a sign of the coming swarm
Technology repeats itself, first as art and then as advertising. When computers are ubiquitous, the need to showcase their potential in new and novel ways leads to such things as the specially-designed robotic entertainers. Each one of Intel's "Shooting Star Drones" weighs under 10 ounces, can fly for up to 20 minutes, and flies at around 6 mph. Yet it's the computing that really stands out: the whole swarm of 300 flying robots are controlled by one pilot and one computer, with a second pilot on hand in case of emergencies. Coordinating flying swarms has applications far beyond just entertainment.