DJI Software Locks Down Balloon Fest For Safety

The Albuquerque Internaitional Balloon Fiesta is the largetst hot-air balloon spectacle on earth, and it’s a photographers dream.

Shutterbugs come from all over the world to participate in what is billed as “the world’s most photographed event’ as hundreds of colorful hot air balloons take gracefully to the sky.

Fiesta is off-limits, though, to photographers using drones.  And thanks to software supplied by DJI, festival organizers will be able to identify and track anyone who attempts to operate a drone within the 4-mile no fly zone set up around the park.

Aerial Armor supplies the new software, in partnership with DJI that identifies any drones that are powered up even if they never leave the ground.  Using the new tech, festival security can identify not just where the drone is located but also the remote control as well as the identifying serial numbers of the devices.

Staff will then provide the information to FBI agents on site who can intervene with the drone operators who are violating the temporary flight restrictions over the festival.

So far organizers have responded to 68 drones that were powered up or flown within the restricted area, 58 of which actually took to the sky.

One drone does have permission to operate within the festival boundaries: a DJI Matrice 600 owned by Jesse Sanson of Colibri Media House.

Sansom’s DJI drone, equipped with a special Canon camera will be capturing images and video of the festival in 4K.