Long-exposure photography captures the passing of time in a way that conventional photography cannot, enabling the paths of brightly lit, moving objects to be “traced” against the dark sky.Using this this technique, Ascending Technologies rigged up its AscTec Falcon 8 UAS drone with a bright LED. Then, relying on GPS positional data from pre-determined flight plans, the drone took to the skies, following as many as 400 waypoints with its camera shutter open.
The result?
Dazzling light spectacles that would give Rudolph (or that one guy on the block who insists on covering every square inch of his house in Christmas lights) a run for his money.

The company produced four variations of this drawing, each containing 366 to 391 single waypoints. Flight time per version: 10 minutes. (Image courtesy of Ascending Technologies)

The present required 68 waypoints. Flight time: 5 minutes. Color changes were remotely controlled by a special module. (Image courtesy of Ascending Technologies)

Two AscTec Falcon 8 drones were used. Total flight time: 8 minutes. (Image courtesy of Ascending Technologies)
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The snowflakes required up to 85 waypoints. Flight time: About 7 minutes. (Image courtesy of Ascending Technologies)

The snowflakes required up to 85 waypoints. Flight time: About 7 minutes. (Image courtesy of Ascending Technologies)
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)