Drone show

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Intel drone light

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How it begins: 

Natalie Cheung joined Intel in 2011 after graduating that year from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master's in electrical engineering and computer science. After a rotational program for engineers, she landed an opportunity as a research analyst for the CEO.

That led to a chat in the hallway with Krzanich in 2015 about using 100 drones to create the Intel logo in front of a company building.

"We didn't know the answer at that time, but said OK, I think we can do this. What do we need to do to make this possible," she said.

In November of that year, Cheung helped organize a team in Germany that flew 100 Hummingbird drones made by Ascending Technology, snagging a Guinness World Record for the most drones that were airborne simultaneously.

"I realized there that we were just scratching the surface and we had just gotten into something that was much bigger than I expected," Cheung said with a Shooting Star drone sitting by her during our conversation.

After the Germany test run, Cheung took over the new light-show team and helped pulled off four international shows using 100 drones in 2016. That year, Intel also acquired Ascending Technologies and later introduced its own Shooting Star drone.

The hardware of a Shooting Star is fairly simple. The drone weighs about as much as a volleyball, is made of foam and plastic, and carries an LED payload that can flash red, green, blue or white. It doesn't have cameras. The Shooting Star, flying outdoors, is guided by GPS, and the Mini drones use a similar tech called the Intel Indoor Location System. And, no, neither drone is available for sale to the public.

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