Slashdot Mirror
500 Intel Drones To Replace Fireworks Above Travis Air Force Base For Fourth of July (techcrunch.com)
The Fourth of July is a little different today at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. From a report: Instead of fireworks, 500 Intel Shooting Star drones will take to the sky to perform an aerial routine in honor of the holiday and the base's 75th anniversary. These are the same drones that preformed at Disney World, the Super Bowl and the Olympics. One person controls the fleet of drones thanks to a sophisticated control platform that pre-plans the route of each drone. Intel engineers told me that the system can control an unlimited amount of drones. In the version I saw, the drones used GPS to stay in place and the drones lacked any collision detection sensors.
victory is mine, m'ladies
(tips fedora vigorously)
You are trying way too hard.
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Do you actually want intel to have an unlimited number of drones?
I mean, they're already creepy enough with those multicolored dancing bunny suit people.
It's not a nanny state, it's a corporate-military state. Intel showing off its military technology. Think of it as the modern equivalent of artillery (which fireworks were meant to represent).
Just as bad, but differently bad.
for my 75th i want real explosions... maybe the drones will crash into eachother at least.
I saw the Intel drone show at Bellagio during CES, twice. It's nice to see for the first time, when one has never seen a drone show. But it's ultimately just 500 color LEDs in the sky and not nearly as visually exciting as a fireworks show. To have it in addition to fireworks makes sense. Replacing the fireworks show? There will be some disappointed kids.
Bruce Perens.
we're kinda ignoring the massive drought going on in the southwest right now because water subsidies hide the impact. But right about now is not the time to be firing off massive fireworks.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Just turn it on and fly it, no tedious carving, gluing and soldering!
That would be true, if you're talking about the bumpkin fireworks display that you buy from the store.
No, the firework displays you talk of are professional done - and these have very strict rules on where they can launch, where they shoot up, and where the audience can be. These ones are also strictly controlled and permitted and do not generally have to abide by firework laws.
About the only complaint anyone has with them (excepting disasters) is the environmental impact of sending up all that black powder and heavy metals, usually seen as the huge cloud of smoke that accumulates and is visible midway through the show.
Those drone shows Intel puts on are in general alternatives.
Oh, and most fireworks companies are private as well. Though none is as big as Intel - most are family run. Some even have their own manufacturing facilities, but that generally requires a lot of work and is reserved for a few special ones they can't buy from China. (Seriously, the rules on manufacturing firework is pretty strict, meant to avoid explosions and other risks that can level a city block. Of course, China has no such provisions and well, yeah, accidents do happen).
Of course, tastes do change as well. I was never a fan of fireworks - the booms just never really did it for me, and although it was pretty, they were still limited in effect. 500 drones doing light draw animations can be more interesting.
Due to high winds, the show has been rescheduled to 7/5 in the AM and is open only to DoD card holders and family per their website/Twitter post: https://twitter.com/Travis60AM...
Take away something we've enjoyed for generations, “
Fireworks are a Chinese invention, can‘t have that during avtrade war.
This drone show has been postponed until July 5th (for DOD card holders and families ONLY) due to high winds on the base today.
http://www.kcra.com/article/tr...
Toil is Stupid. Don't be Stupid.
I've read that fireworks are a common problem for people suffering from PTSD and that they make many veterans quite miserable. Maybe this thinking was involved.
This just in: The fourth of July drone celebration at Travis Air Force Base has been cancelled, because no one wants to see that shit instead of fireworks.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
Well, I was a fan of personally lit fireworks. Not a huge fan, but a fan. The professional displays I don't bother to watch, and I never understood the reason why they were though equivalent by anyone. The symbolism is totally different.
Of course, a centralized display of fireworks is appropriate for a country that is has centralized control. So in that sense the change of the rules makes sense, with fireworks standing in for control of power.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
So is paper and printing.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
But at least it gives low performing employees something to do - oh not that kind of drone. I just imagined a Dilbert cartoon with the employees tied to weather balloons and made to wave glowsticks around.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
You are still trying way too hard.
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Remember that you wrote it here, first, and watch the strip next year.
But that does sound like something that PHB might at least daydream of doing.
So what you saying is. You just want to see big roman candles. You know, since you just want to simulate the old military rockets..
-- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
You are still trying way too hard..
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Or Minions
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads