Drone programs are fast becoming the tool of choice for people and companies that want to get their attention, and Genesis knows this very well. The Hyundai-owned car brand marked its entry into China by breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest number of unmanned aerial vehicles in the air at the same time, using 3,281 drones to display its logo and advertise in Shanghai on March 29.
It is a significant improvement over the previous record holder, Shenzhen Damoda Intelligent Control Technology. The company flew “only” 3,051 drones in September 2020. This, in turn, broke the record set by a performance of 2,200 drones in Russia a few days earlier. Intel, which has a reputation for drone light shows, last claimed the record with 2,066 drones flying over Folsom, California in July 2018.
Talents like this usually depend on choreography software that instructs drones to form certain shapes while coordinating the swarm to avoid collisions.
This is a publicity stunt, of course, and it won’t be surprising if another company finds a way to beat Genesis in a short time. It shows how far drone programs have progressed in just a few years, and it can easily fuel competition between companies determined to showcase robotic extravaganzas.