Drone show for the first time
The annual Beating the Retreat ceremony, which takes place in the national capital on January 29, will have a show of nearly 1,000 drones by an IIT-Delhi-based startup to commemorate 75 years of the country’s independence, according to senior officials of the defence ministry.
Moreover, for the first time, on the parapet of the north block and the south block, there will be a laser projection mapping show to commemorate 75 years of independence. This is the first time that the Beating the Retreat ceremony will have a laser show and a drone show. These two shows will take place in addition to the foot-tapping music and classical renditions that are there every year at the ceremony.
Themed on 75 years of Independence
The officials said Botlab, a startup from IIT-Delhi, will put up the drone show with nearly 1,000 drones. It will be themed on 75 years of independence. The drone show will be ten minute long.
“The project has been developed indigenously within the country, developing all the necessary components, including both hardwares and softwares such as the flight controller (brain of the drone); precision GPS; motor controller; Ground Control Station (GCS) algorithms etc,” an official statement said.
For the project “Design and Development of a Reconfigurable Swarming System Consisting of 500-1000 Drones for 3D Choreographed Drone Light Shows”, Botlab Dynamics Private Limited was financially supported.
Indigenous concept
India will be the fourth country to conduct a drone show of this size that has been designed and conceptualised indigenously. China, Russia and the United States are the three other countries that can put up a drone show of this size, they added. The Beating the Retreat ceremony marks a centuries-old military tradition, dating back to the days when troops disengaged from a battle at sunset. As soon as the buglers sounded the “retreat”, the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield.
