Music

Lady Gaga Halftime Drone Swarm Was Pretaped to Shield Crowd

Super Bowl drone swarm prerecorded to comply with regulations
U.S. commercial drone registration grows to thousands a year

Lady Gaga performs during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl 51 Halftime Show.
Photographer: Bob Levey/Getty Images

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By Henri Gendreau and Alan Levin

February 7, 2017 at 10:00 AM UTC

Updated on

February 7, 2017 at 5:46 PM UTC

The synchronized swarm of 300 drones lit up the night sky behind Lady Gaga, morphing into an American flag as she recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime light show -- prerecorded to comply with prohibitions on flying drones over people -- was choreographed by Intel Corp. It provided a dramatic backdrop for the performance and also illustrated the ways large companies are embracing unmanned aircraft in sometimes unexpected ways.