Drones are becoming increasingly popular in this day and age. Aside from their initial purpose as hovering robotic cameramen, they are now used in races, surveillance, and even life-saving firefighting and rescues.
You may remember that a drone with a life jacket saved a struggling young boy from drowning off the coast of Spain in early July - an unthinkable feat in the gadget's early days.
With technological advancements paving the way to new ways to use drones, it is no wonder that drones are also used for tourist attractions like drone displays.
However, can these drones replace fireworks for celebrations and events that traditionally use fireworks, such as New Year's Eve and the fourth of July?
Can Drones Replace Fireworks In Events?
The answer is not as straightforward as you may think. The use of drones, much like fireworks, has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Let's start with the former. Drones are mostly silent apart from their whirling when hovering, but that can be negligible when used at a distance.
When used in drone displays, they are blissfully quiet, allowing pets with sensitive hearing, like cats and dogs, to be stress-free during the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve celebrations, per Hot Hardware.
Additionally, using drones for displays is also environmentally friendly, as there is no emission created when using them. They are also reusable and has will not create any debris from their use (except when it breaks midair, but that is a story for another time.)
Furthermore, drones can only be handled by technical experts who know how to program them to create the displays we all know and love.
This exclusivity prevents any injuries commonly found in firework/firecracker use. You may remember that injuries from firework/firecracker use tend to result in amputations or burns and chemical poisoning, to say the least, per Health Grades and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages to using them. Drones are only as environmentally friendly as the power source it uses to recharge themselves. As such, if a town or state uses fossil fuels to generate electricity, then the emission-free nature of drones is deemed null and void, per The Guardian.
While it won't panic cats and dogs, it will spook horses and livestock; to say nothing of the birds that sometimes collide with them.
Lastly, drones don't create the band people want and are looking for in celebrations. Some cultures even desire to have fireworks to "drive away" bad luck and the problems the outgoing year has.
Upcoming Drone Displays In The US
Nevertheless, drone displays are pretty and entertaining to look at, and these qualities are enough to give them a chance.
There are some companies, cities, and states that will soon host drone displays to welcome 2023. One of them is T-Mobile.
The company will soon have a drone display as part of its New Year's Eve celebrations at its "T-Mobile New Year's at the Needle" event at Seattle Center, per the company's statement.
The state of Dallas will also host another drone display around Reunion Tower on New Year's Eve, according to Fox News.
