In a spectacular collaboration between man and machine, technology company Intel has floated into the official Guinness World Records book by flying the most drones simultaneously.
Reminiscent of the Steven Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 100 UAVs ‘performed’ an orchestral light and flight show set to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
The record-breaking feat was filmed in Tornesch, Germany, and shows multi-colored drones floating perfectly in sync to music performed by a live orchestra on the ground.
As the crowds below ‘ooh and ah’ at the airborne extravaganza, the sometimes deadly, always intriguing flying machines spell out the name of their corporate masters.
Drones are already the talk of 2016: the US Federal Aviation Administration expects more than 600,000 of them to be purchased this year alone.
Russia has also signed a law obliging all owners of drones heavier than 250 grams to register with the Federal Air Transport Agency.
Intel’s flight of fancy is not the first time drones have taken part in a classical ensemble.
Last month a squadron of quadcopters was filmed protecting the modesty of nude ballet dancers as they moved to Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece Swan Lake.