The world’s first drone circus is to be held in the Netherlands, where aerial robots equipped with lasers and projectors will spin in dizzying dances across the Amsterdam Arena.
The AIR 2015 show is scheduled to take place this year with hundreds of drones lined up to fill the venue. The event is being developed in conjunction with the Royal Netherlands Air Force, although a date has not yet been set.
“In this high energy and explosive show, drones will take centre stage to bring a collaboration and fusion of music, video, projections and special effects. AIR allows you to experience a variety of ballet and battles, races and lasers, circus, illusions and most of all magic from hundreds of drones,” said the event’s promoter Fjuze in a statement on the site announcing the AIR2015 show.
Fjuze is not the first to the idea of using drones as a display team. Disney is working on replacing its more traditional means of live entertainment such as giant puppets and fireworks with drone displays, including a mesh of drones covered in lights simulating an aerial display.
The explosion of commercially available drones has caused issues with flight restrictions primarily in place for larger aircraft. In the UK, drones cannot be flown within 50m of a building, person or vehicle or within 150m of a built up area, including sporting events. They must also be kept within the line-of-sight of the person operating the drone, which is generally measured as 500m horizontally or 122m vertically.
Leaked documents from the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) show that the regulator is set to allow commercial drone use without a licence, but only within line-of-sight of an operator.
The drones used for AIR 2015 will be flown inside the arena, skirting any outdoor flight restrictions.
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