Did You Watch The NYE Drone Show In KL? Here Are 5 Fun Facts About It
The New Year's Eve celebration saw 300 drones performing over Dataran Merdeka on 31 December.
By May Vin Ang — 03 Jan 2020, 04:08 PM
The 'Ambang 2020' New Year's Eve celebration on 31 December saw 300 drones flying in fancy formations over Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur to usher in the new year
Whether you were chilling at home or at Dataran Merdeka that night, here are five fun facts you may want to know about the drones:
1. It was the Culture, Arts, and Tourism Ministry that deployed the drone formation light show
The event was not only to usher in the New Year, but also to officially launch the 'Visit Malaysia 2020' campaign.
Titled 'VM2020 Light Show In The Sky', the drones performed in unison to form a wau bulan, a trishaw, a hornbill, the Jalur Gemilang, and even the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo.
According to The Star, the multicoloured drones made 11 formations that showcased Malaysia's attractions.
2. The drones were ran and powered by Intel technology
According to Lowyat.net, the drone system used during the event was designed by Intel specifically for light shows.
The Shooting Star drones are not like regular consumer-grade drones, instead they have customised software to automate animations in the sky and have built-in LED lights that are capable of producing four billion colour combinations.
A fleet of drones are controlled by a single computer, and Intel holds a Guiness World Record for having flown 2,066 drones simultaneously by a single pilot.
3. This is not the first time Intel has ran a drone show in Malaysia
According to Malay Mail, Marvel Malaysia utilised the same technology to mark the release of 'Avengers: Endgame' in April last year.
The Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) football club also celebrated their sixth consecutive Malaysia Super League title in July last year with a drone light show.
4. The entire performance on New Year's Eve is estimated to have cost RM920,000
Lowyat.net estimates that, with information from Intel's website, a 300-drone show would have cost the Tourism Ministry at least USD225,000 (RM919,710).
The Star had reported that the entire countdown celebration had received a RM2 million allocation.
5. Police were on the lookout to shoot down unauthorised drones during the event
"A special police team will use a special device to jam or kill a drone which is flown by any individual in the area," said Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim a day before the event.
"We do not want a collision of drones flown by members of the public with those belonging to the authorities," he said, as quoted by Malay Mail, adding that a drone could also fall and injure someone.
Honestly though, this writer enjoys good ol' fireworks.
Happy New Year!
