Learning Systems and Robotics Lab, Munich & Toronto

SwarmGPT meets the new Crazyflie Colour LED Deck 🚁🌈

We are excited to share our recent collaboration with Bitcraze, showcasing how Bitcraze's new Crazyflie Colour LED Deck takes drone swarm choreographies to the next level.

The programmable LED Deck adds a powerful visual layer to our swarm performance: synchronization, grouping, role assignment, and timing become immediately visible in the air. This not only makes swarm behaviour more expressive and engaging, but also easier to inspect and understand in real time.

In parallel, our recent work, SwarmGPT (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11197931), explores how large language models can be used as a high-level interface for designing such choreographies. Instead of manually specifying trajectories, SwarmGPT translates natural-language intent and music-derived cues into structured swarm behaviours that are executed safely using model-based planning and control.

Together with Bitcraze, we demonstrate SwarmGPT on the Crazyflie brushless platform equipped with the new Colour LED Deck, highlighting how hardware innovation and swarm research can seamlessly reinforce each other. Hope you enjoy the video and happy holidays!

Special thanks to Fredrik Ehrenstråle and Marcel Rath for creating the soundtrack and for making the video.

-collaborations