Watch a synchronized ballet of autonomous Parrot Bebop drones at IFA 2015

By Rich Shibley Published September 9, 2015

The days of air traffic controllers commanding the skies, and pilots flying by the seat of their pants, may be numbered.

Onlookers at IFA 2015 were amazed at the show put on by a swarm of autonomous Parrot Bebop drones. They flipped, spun, ducked, and dodged, all while performing in close quarters.

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As the curtain went up to start the show, a soft whir of rotor blades filled the convention hall. Then the drones took off in sequence and started an aerial acrobatic show akin to what you would see from the Blue Angels. The drones performed in unison, every move synchronized with the music.

The quadcopters were programmed by the coders back at Parrot, and they use tags on the show floor to navigate. We tried to get a sneak behind the scenes to learn more, but the team at Parrot wanted to keep some things secret.

With auto-pilot and GPS guidance already being used in most aircraft, it’s safe to say that with the addition of the technologies displayed here, we could see a show like this put on by full-size aircraft in the future.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Rich Shibley is the Director of Video Production at Digital Trends. Before working at DT, he was as an Emmy award winning TV…

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