Challenging Briefs
January 2025. The iDRONE team received a brief from Maximum Ultimate to support the official launch of Geely in Indonesia. The request was clear and ambitious: 500 drones had to form the silhouette of the Geely EX5 — Geely's first car to enter the Indonesian market — in the sky of the Pullman Hotel Central Park Jakarta.
This is not just an ordinary drone show. This is a brand-defining moment for Geely Indonesia. This show has to be viral, it has to be memorable, and it has to be perfect on the big day. We have about 3 weeks to make it happen.
Design Process: From Car Drawings to 3D Code
Our creative team started by getting a 3D blueprint of the Geely EX5 directly from the Geely team. Every curve of the car body, wheelbase proportions, grill details — everything has to be accurate because viewers who know this car will immediately notice if something is not right.
From the 3D files, our team of programmers converted the car geometry to XYZ coordinates for each drone. 500 drones = 500 light points. Each point's position is calculated so that the transition between formations is smooth and the silhouette of the car is formed proportionally at a height of 60 meters.
We created 5 main formations: opening sphere (exploding ball of light), EX5 silhouette from the side, 90 degree rotation to the front view, the Geely logo that says 'INDONESIA', and the grand finale confetti pattern. Total programming time: 11 days.
Logistics: Bringing 500 Drones to the Rooftop Floor
Pullman Hotel Central Park is an urban venue with limited space. Bringing 500 drones to a location is not an easy matter — each drone is in a hard case, the battery is in a separate suitcase according to aviation regulations, the ground station and antenna array need their own area.
Our ground crew team — 12 people — started setting up at 14.00 for the evening show. Each drone is preflight checked individually: firmware, compass calibration, LEDs, motors. Everything was done in the hotel parking area before being moved to the launch zone.
Coordination with the hotel was also intensive — we needed the rooftop and B2 floor area as staging, plus priority lift access for equipment. Our technical team slept in a hotel the night before to ensure nothing was left behind.
D-Day: The Wind and the Final Decision
On the D-day, Jakarta's weather showed an average wind speed of 18 km/hour — the upper limit that is still safe for our drone operations. There was a moment in the afternoon when the speed rose to 22-23 km/h. Our flight operations team decided to delay warm-up by 45 minutes and monitor weather station data every 10 minutes.
At 21.15, the wind had dropped to 16 km/h and was stable. GO signal given. 500 drones take-off in cluster formation for 90 seconds, rise to a height of 60 meters, and the show begins.
The moment
After 4 minutes of walking, the silhouette of the Geely EX5 from the side was perfectly formed in the Jakarta sky. The audience — hundreds of guests, media and the Geely Indonesia team — simultaneously picked up their phones. The moment trended on X and Instagram within 2 hours afterward.
What we remember most is not the final applause, but when the CEO of Geely Indonesia approached our team after the show and said: 'I think this is impossible in Indonesia. You prove otherwise.'
That's what drives us to keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible with drones in Indonesian skies.
