Intel patent shows drones could be used to make mobile billboards in the near future
forward looking: Drone light shows are nothing new, but drone-based digital signage can evolve in a number of ways. As suggested by a recent Intel patent, drones could be used to create mobile billboards that are friendly to the environment and their audience. Not everything that gets a patent makes it into an actual product or service, but it may one day be a replacement for some types of advertising that companies use today.
When Intel isn’t busy rejuvenating its foundry business and battling AMD for the CPU performance crown, the company is exploring different technologies and how they can be used.
For example, Intel’s research arm has a fascination for drones, which can be used to replace fireworks and create interesting visual glasses during big events.
Over the years, Intel has put on a number of dazzling light shows using drones, whether during its 50th anniversary or Walmart’s Holiday Drone Light Show. Recently, the company used 1,000 drones to spread the word about its Ark Alchemist GPU, but it has yet to deliver on its promise to ship millions of them to gamers around the world.
Unsurprisingly, Intel has several patents surrounding these, but one in particular as of January 4, 2022 – US Pat. Number 11,217,126 – Describes methods and systems for providing “ad-hoc digital signage” for public or private displays. Drone Lite shows that take minutes during events, to demonstrate the choreography of the drone swarm, find a suitable location, and test the deployment on site to see if it works with acceptable, Keys spends months of hard work designing the choreography. degree of accuracy.
In a nutshell, Intel’s patent describes ways to create a drone-based billboard that can be easily moved around and reconfigured on the fly to show different types of ads. Methods include drones with projection systems and capturing data from a variety of sensors to accommodate the audience and even move with it as needed.
For situations where space is at a premium, the drones will scan the geometry of the environment and adjust the projection size to fit a smaller area. For areas where large projections are possible, multiple drones can work together to create a seamless digital signage, and as an adjunct to adjust the viewing angle of a projection and measure the level of viewer’s interest. will work in
If the signage isn’t attracting attention, the guidance drone can replace the content being displayed by other units.
The projection surface can also be ad hoc, in which a drone swarm can split into two groups – one to roll the canvas and another to project onto it. There are also details about a spatial audio system for video ads and ways to adjust the content to the mood and general interests of the audience.
If this sounds crazy, just a few years ago a Russian startup called StartRocket thought of using satellites to light up the night sky with commercials. Still, none of this defeats the weird factor of “the idea of using robots to draw advertisements to the surface of the Moon.”
Fortunately, even Intel’s relatively mundane idea of drone-based advertising exposed in the patent has yet to materialize into an actual service. As of writing, the company is offering the Drone Light Show, which costs anywhere from $99,000 to $299,000, as well as custom plans for larger projects involving thousands of drones.
These drone light shows are marketed as an alternative to fireworks, as they are believed to be safer, cleaner, quieter and more environmentally friendly.
