Drones over the Danube, from Buda to Pest

The Hungarian government arranged an extraordinary drone display last night as part of their generous hospitality for this year’s ITU Telecom World event in Budapest.  I have never seen anything quite like it, and I hope the photos below provide just a glimpse into the technical and artistic success of this occasion.

Click to view slideshow.

So many thoughts sprang to mind!  In the future, drone displays may well take over from fireworks and laser shows!  But more worryingly, just imagine that each drone carried a small explosive payload, that the drones had facial and gait recognition capabilities, and that they were programmed autonomously to track you down…  There are many different futures: we need to ensure that the negatve aspects of digital technologies are mitigated, so that their positive aspects can flourish.

It is without doubt appropriate to thank HE Mr. István Manno, Head of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary for his indefatigable work to ensure the strongest possible relationships between the ITU and the Government of Hungary, and especially for all of his efforts to make this evening event such a success.