DroneCode drone light show fills skies above Open Source Summit

DroneCode was busy putting on its PX4 Developer Summit 2022 last week. And — while it turned Austin, Texas into a haven for open source enthusiasts — all residents of Austin were treated to some spectacular entertainment by way of the DroneCode drone light show.

The 300-drone light show flew not far from the city’s Congress Avenue Bridge. The show took place last Thursday, which was the end of Day 1 of the PX4 Developer Summit 2022.

The annual PX4 Developer Summit conference hosted by the Dronecode Foundation centers around the PX4 Ecosystem. PX4 is an open source flight control software primarily for drones, but appropriate for other unmanned vehicles as well. That summit was held concurrently with Open Source Summit North America, hosted by the Linux Foundation.

The show was pretty neat. Drones spelled words like PX4 Autopilot and Open Source, and also made shapes including the Linux penguin and a drone. And it seemed like the robotics industry as a whole was pretty into it.

While that light show was certainly a delight for developers, drone enthusiasts and other open-source and robotics pros, this is just one of many drone light shows happening this summer.

Head to Silicon Valley and spend the evening at the Alameda County Fair, and you’ll be treated to a nightly drone light show through the first week of July, visible all over the Fairgrounds.

And last week, the NBA hosted a drone light show over the Hudson River in New York City to promote the NBA draft.

And drone light shows are proliferating around the world too.

Djibouti, Africa got a drone light show this summer:

And in the United Kingdom, Paramount put on a show to promote Paramount+ with a highly-recognizable image: Scream.

Between the DroneCode drone light show, the major promotions, and the local community shows at county fairs, it looks like 2022 is shaping up to be the summer of drone light shows.

Read more: How much does it cost to put on a drone light show?

That said, one major drone light show maker, Intel, is no more (kind of). Tech giant Intel sold off its light shows business to Nova Sky Stories. Intel famously put on major shows including an FAA-approved, Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring Lady Gaga, as nighttime entertainment at  Coachella and for a recurring show during the 2016 holiday season at Walt Disney World. It even sent drones flying in the shape of Baby Yoda for a Disney+ promotion.