Tech
How Tokyo’s drone show spectacular took flight
How did almost two thousand drones light up the sky to create a spectacular better than fireworks? the idea for a done show began down under
The drone show was the true highlight of the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony
1,824 drones formed the shape of the world 175m in the air.
The shapes kept rotating and shifting against each other, and some turned bright blue
Millions of us, across the world were transfixed as the drones rotated just like Planet Earth.
It was breathtaking and was quite literally the turning point that made most of us believe in the Olympics again.
A photo shows a sphere made of drones during the Opening Ceremony of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at National Stadium in Tokyo on July 23, 2021. The summer Olympic games will run until Aug. 8th. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images ) epaselect epa09359933 Picture taken from the Shibuya Sky observation deck shows drones forming a globe above the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, 23 July 2021. EPA/CHRISTOPHER JUE Drones in formation fly over the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama) epa09359956 A photographer takes pictures of drones forming a globe in the sky over the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, 23 July 2021. EPA/PETER KLAUNZER
Did you know Australia was behind the whole light show?
Back in 2019 the country was burning through a devastating black summer, so instead of having sparking flames in the air AKA fireworks, drone light shows became the answer.
They can be fully customised to create anything imaginable, even to John Lennon’s song ‘imagine’ like we saw in Tokyo.
To perform a drone show, multiple quadcopters coordinate to fly in programmed, preset patterns, tracing out shapes in the sky that are often choreographed to music.
After a few test runs, the lightweight drones in Tokyo were all controlled by a team of just 15 people.
In a perfect performance – trained pilots, animators and programmers manoeuvred the high-tech equipment.
With the man behind the idea describing the drone spectacular as “an amazing feat of technology.”
“A lot of the story really came from the creative talents here in Japan, and then we collaborated on best ways to integrate the drones into the overall story,” Intel Olympic and Paralympic general manager Rick Echevarria said.
Will fireworks be replaced in the next few years as this emerging technology gains a sky hold?
EU plans to make USB-C connectors the standard port for all smartphones and tablets, angering Apple
The European Commission rules to force manufacturers to create a universal charging solution for phones and small electronic devices. The European Commission is aiming to have a common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets, cameras, headphones, and handheld videogame consoles.
The ruling has been in the making for a decade, with environmental concerns the main driving force behind the historic move.
Reducing waste
The rule will reduce waste by encouraging consumers to re-use existing chargers when buying a new device. Politicians have been pushing for this uni9versal charging rule for over a decade.
Disposed and unused charging cables generate approximately 11,000 tonnes of waste per year. Research shows the average person owns around three mobile phone chargers.
A decade ago there were about 30 different types of chargers, now, phones use either USB-C, lightning, and USB micro-B.
Rotten Apple
The move would see all smartphones in the EU sold with the same charger, a motion Apple is not happy about. The tech giant says this move would damage ongoing innovation.
The tech giant is the main manufacturer of smartphones using a custom charging port, as its iPhone series uses an Apple-made “Lightning” connector. Apple argues its Lightning connector is used by one billion active iPhone users.
“We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world,”
Apple spokesperson
The proposed changes would apply to the charging port on the device body and will also standardise charging speeds. It may be a number of years before the proposals come into effect.
It will be thoroughly debated by the European Parliament and national Governments.
EU plans to force USB-C chargers for all phones
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