Imagine a stadium filled with thousands of fans, with millions more viewing from the comfort of their sofa. They have amassed together to support their favorite team. The "racer" for each team takes position in the centre of the stadium. The crowd goes wild as a loudspeaker tones three times, followed by a fourth, higher pitch tone and the race begins...
Each quadcopter drone is remote controlled by its racer with the aid of First Person Video, in which footage from cameras mounted to the front of the drone is streamed in real time to a headset worn by the racer controlling the drone. Reaching speeds of up to 85 miles per hour these purpose built drones race through checkpoints and complete a set number of laps to determine the winner. Think of the futuristic racing video game Wipeout, only smaller in scale and very, very real.
The Drone Racing League is the birth of a new sport which investors Stephen M. Ross (owner of the American Football team, the Miami Dolphins), Matt Bellamy (Lead singer of British rock band MUSE) and the talent agency CAA are all hoping will become the first new "future-sport" of the 21st Century.
While FPV racing has been around for a while, the formation of the DRL and the high profile investment shows great promise for the fledgling sports future. And with a little personal investment beginning at a mere $150 anyone one of us could become one of its founding star racers.
Article Published:
2016-01-28 10:43:46