Drone light show creates scannable QR code in the sky

The show was staged in celebration of a Japanese role-playing game.
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A drone light show staged in celebration of a video game ended with the drones forming a massive, scannable QR code in the sky.

Anniversary celebration: The drone light show was held in Shanghai to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Chinese release of “Princess Connect! Re:Dive,” a Japanese role-playing game.

The game’s developer, Cygames, collaborated with Chinese video-sharing website Bilibili on the show, which featured 1,500 LED-equipped drones.

After forming a smartphone with the game’s logo on its screen, the drones flew into the shapes of three game characters, who then battled — and defeated — a dragon in the Shanghai sky.

The drone light show ended with the QR code — scanning it downloaded the game onto users’ smartphones.

The future of marketing? This is hardly the first drone light show.

In 2012, 49 LED-equipped drones took to the Austrian sky to wow attendees at the Ars Electronica Festival, and since then, they’ve been incorporated into Olympics opening ceremonies, election celebrations, and several Super Bowl halftime shows.

We’ve also seen examples of LED drones being used for marketing before, but this is the first known instance of a drone light show forming a scannable QR code in the sky — giving viewers a way to connect with a product immediately after the lights go out.

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