Disney is thinking about building a platform for drones to provide entertainment at facilities such as theme parks, sports stadiums and cruise ships.

Generally, sky-based entertainment shows have relied on systems that are positioned on the ground. For instance, the Disney fireworks show synchronises the launching of the rockets with a soundtrack.

Recently, there have been attempts at using drones to provide sky-based entertainment - in fact, London brought in 2021 with a drone show.

Drone shows tend to work by following a pre-programmed set of movements. However, their effectiveness in creating high quality shows that appear synchronous is limited. For instance, weather conditions might mean that the drones deviate in time or space from where they ought to be. Moreover, it is difficult to synchronise the drones with actors or ground components for more complex shows.

Disney is trying to solve this with a platform that will allow drones to create dynamically coordinated shows. This means that the drones’ position and orientation may change for each show in a way that ensures the best performance. The drones will also communicate with a ground-based control system so that they can respond to trigger signals e.g. when the soundtrack gets to a specific part, the drones must do X, taking into account any deviations that may have happened during the show.

To add to the magic, Disney describes the drones as having a structural frame to support an outer covering. With this, the drones can be made to resemble characters or objects from a movie, while being lightweight enough to still fly in the air.

While Disney has partnered with Intel in the past to put on a drone light show, it looks like the company is now looking to build its own in-house technology that can be used to create better, more cohesive, drone-based entertainment.

With Walt Disney’s empire spanning across Disney, ESPN, Marvel and LucasFilms, maybe we’ll soon start seeing drone-based entertainment using characters from their IP portfolio, as well as new types of entertainment during sports breaks at stadiums.