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Intel's Choreographed Drones Featured At Super Bowl Light Up The Sky Over Sacramento County

FOLSOM (CBS13) — The skies above Folsom were lit up Wednesday night as hundreds of drones formed together to put on a spectacular show.

Intel is testing the sky-high technology and invited its employees and their families out for the show. Residents say they've never seen anything quite like it before, and during a testing session on Friday, it gave some of them quite a show.

General Manager of Intel Drone Group Anil Nanduri said, "It creates magic in the sky."

One by one, 500 drones flew into the Folsom sky before banding together in a carefully choreographed routine.

Nanduri said, "Like a canvas in the sky, you can make your creations come to life."

The shimmering display of technology was created by Intel Corporation which is now testing out its synchronized "shooting star" drones at its Folsom headquarters.

"You can actually animate it; you can tell stories," said Nanduri, "This whole operation has a lot of safety built into it. The drones themselves weigh less than a volleyball."

It takes just a single button on a computer for the fleet to lift off. The floating display of lights is breathtaking.

Folsom resident Oden Taylor said, "It was really, really cool."

But, for some Folsom residents, it's mind-blowing, too.

Taylor and Thompson weren't sure what they saw when they shot a cellphone video, Friday.

"It straight up looked like a spaceship," said Taylor.

Thompson said, "It looked like a firework at first, and I was like what's going on, but then the firework just stayed there."

Intel says drone light shows are the future of entertainment in the sky. Although there were no UFOs or floating fireworks, these folks say what popped up over the skies in their hometown is even better.

"It was honestly like the coolest thing ever to watch," said Taylor.

Intel also put on a drone light show for this year's Super Bowl in Houston and is planning another show for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Folks in Folsom can expect to see floating lights in the sky for the next few days, as Intel continues testing the technology.

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