‘Blaze’ lights up heritage city’s night skies

With no Air Show, tourists and residents of the heritage city were a disappointed lot for being denied an opportunity to watch the metal birds fly past the sky. But then, the Dasara High Power Committee, headed by Dasara Special Officer and Deputy Commissioner (DC) G. Lakshmikanth Reddy and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) Managing Director G. Sheela, held a brainstorming session to decide upon an event that could light up the skies. They came up with the idea to have a drone show,  a spectacle in the sky.

They decided to engage the services of BotLab Dynamics, a Delhi-based company that has experience in organising drone shows. BotLab Dynamics is not new to Dasara. They have been carrying out drone shows for the past two years in Mysuru but in a small scale with 250 drones. This year, they are using 1,500 drones making it a grand spectacle for the Nada Habba.

While the viewing area for the drone show is the Torchlight Parade Grounds in Bannimantap, the actually control centre is at St. Philomena’s College Grounds. The drones take off from St. Philomena’s Grounds and flies high enough for the people to view from the Torchlight Parade Grounds.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, BotLab Dynamics Business Development Executive Kshitij Kaikeya said that the first drone show for BotLab was during the Beating Retreat ceremony held on the occasion of Republic Day celebrations in 2022 with 1,000 drones followed by a show with 3,500 drones in 2023 which was a record at that time. 

“This year, we created another record with 5,500 drones in Jamnagar for Anant Ambani’s pre-wedding event,” he said.

The animations that are created on skies are programmed and fed into the drones through a software which helps drones create the magic automatically when in the sky. The drones used are manufactured by BotLab including the hardware and software.

Blaze is the name

The drones used for the shows are called ‘Blaze’ and earlier version was called ‘Neo.’ The company also plans to launch the updated version by the end of this year to replace the existing fleet. At present, the company has an inventory of 6,500 drones and for Dasara, about 1,500 drones are being used.

Swarm Technology is the secret

For drones to create the animation in the skies there is an extensive process. The animation team creates the storyboard and the show design. Later, the idea is shared with clients for feedback before finalising the design and sequence of animation.

On finalising the design and sequence, the programme is designed and sent into the drones’ firmware through a laptop and from the firmware, the drones understand where it has to go and at what speed.

Once the drones take off, the rest is automatic including the creation of animation with the help of Swarm Technology.

One operator commands all drones

One would think 1,500 drones would need numerous operators, but it turns out all it takes in one operator. He is the person who decides on the flight sequence and is also responsible for deciding the take-off time for the show after considering the weather condition, testing of the on-ground setup and seating of the audience.

LED Colours

The drones are curated with Light Emitting Diodes (LED) which are capable of creating millions of colour combinations. Once the animation is finalised, the colour sequence is arranged for different animations through a programme which helps the drones understand the colour it has to produce in each formation.

GPS technology comes into play

After programming is done, the drones, when in air need to maintain a certain distance between each other. This is achieved by a software and satellite communication that allows drones to be aware of their position in animation sequence in the sky.

Before  take-off, the drones are tested for any defect. If the drones are fit to go and receiving signals, they will display a green light else a different colour is displayed in each drone to identify the exact problem using the colour code.

Weather is always a challenge

For conducting drones shows, even weather plays a key role. “On normal conditions, the event goes according to plans, but with change in climatic conditions, we request our client to either advance or postpone the event until the weather condition comes to normalcy,” Kshitij said.

“After all, the drones are electronic equipment. There are chances of them not working after a certain time in the rain. The drones work fine when there is mild rain and breeze, but if there is heavy rain and wind, it cannot perform. So, we take precautions by accessing the weather condition before taking off. With each drone costing about Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh we have to be careful,” he added.

Credit to CESC

The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) Limited, which has been illuminating the heritage city since its inception for Dasara, has added more glitter to the festival this year by organising a mega drone show. Speaking to SOM, M.K. Munigopal Raju, Director (Technical), CESC, credited the senior officials and staff for putting up a great show related to both illumination and drone shows.

“With the State Government celebrating Dasara on a grand scale, our DC wanted the CESC to come out with something special apart from the regular illumination. The senior officials of the CESC held a meeting under the leadership of our Chairman Rameshbabu Bandisiddegowda (who is also Srirangapatna MLA) and MD Sheela, under whose guidance we decided to organise drone shows on a mega scale and we are overwhelmed with the response from the public,” he added.

—VNS