High-speed cameras capture footage of largest autonomous drone swarm to date

A recent 60 Minutes special detailed the struggles a CBS News team encountered when it came to filming a swarm of 100 Perdix drones during U.S. Department of Defense testing. In order to capture footage of the small, fast-moving objects, the video team used high-speed cameras after days of trying to figure out what to do.

Developed by MIT’s Lincoln Labs for the Department of Defense, Perdix drones (pictured) are small drones designed to operate as a team, or as a “swarm. The autonomous drones are designed for military operations and represent what the Pentagon’s Dr. Will Roper said is a “glimpse into the future of combat.” In order to share this story with the world, however, the 60 Minutes team first had to figure out how to get the drones—which travel upwards of 40-50 miles per hour—on film.

When cameraman Ron Dean went to the Fort Devens Army base in Massachusetts in an exploratory shoot to see if he could film a few Perdix drones in flight, he realized that it may not be possible. The idea struck, however, to see if a golf cameraman—whose job it is to track a small white ball flying across sky—could assist in their challenge. This is where Rudy Niedermeyer, an experienced golf cameraman, stepped in.

At first, the filming proved difficult, as Niedermeyer could not seem to capture footage of the drones, which are self-directed, meaning the flight trajectory is unpredictable.

“No way,” Niedermeyer said on 60 Minutes. “I’m like, I can’t believe I can’t do this.”

Much progress was made, however, when a Sony 4300 4K camera was brought in. The camera is attached by cable to a server and enables footage to be slowed down. The Sony 4300 features a 3-chip 2/3” type CMOS image sensor and reaches speeds of up to 480 fps. This camera is also used at the Super Bowl, the NBA finals, the MLB World Series, and the Masters golf tournament. With this, producer Mary Walsh saw steady progress on the shots, but an even faster camera was brought in to capture the high-speed footage.

Joining Niedermeyer was Justin Hall, a cameraman who specializes in live replay for major televised sports events, who used a Phantom Flex camera to capture the Perdix drones. The thermo-electrically-cooled Phantom Flex camera features a 4 MPixel CMOS image sensor with 10 µm pixel size, 12-bit depth, and can reach speeds of up to 1,455 fps in full resolution.

The resulting footage, which can be seen on the 60 Minutes special, shows the largest ever autonomous drone swarm—which were launched from three F-18 jet fighters—performing a complicated swarm maneuver for the first time.

View the 60 Minutes video.

Share your vision-related news by contacting James Carroll, Senior Web Editor, Vision Systems Design

To receive news like this in your inbox, click here.

Join our LinkedIn group | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter

Learn more: search the Vision Systems Design Buyer's Guide for companies, new products, press releases, and videos