The World Drone Prix was held in Dubai last week and won by British teenager Luke Bannister. Drone racing has been hitting the headlines in recent months mainly because of the investment and prize funds it is offering. Bannister and his small team beat 150 other teams and won $250,000. The Dubai race event had a total prize pot of $1,000,000. Not bad for a sport that has only just taken off – excuse the pun, couldn’t help myself.
The drones used in drone racing should not be confused with the multi-rotor copters you can buy nowadays in most toy shops. Racing drones are usually smaller, much faster and highly maneuverable. With speeds greater than 60 miles per hour it is almost impossible to control them through line-of-site, that is from the ground by simply looking at them. Racing drones are fitted with first-person-view (FVP) cameras allowing the controller to ‘pilot’ the drone while racing. This has revolutionised the sport for the contestants.
However, the racing event planners are still trying to determine how to turn this into a spectator sport. Last year, the California State Fair hosted the US National Drone Racing Championships. The event attracted around 120 pilots but only 60 spectators. The Dubai event fared better partly due to the superior track with many of the races being held at night. One solution is being explored by FanVision who are looking to provide online feeds taken from the pilots goggles and present them to fans devices such as smart phones and tablets. The next World Drone Championships will be held in Hawaii in October 2016
Oliver O’Brien, founder of the UK Drone Show believes “It’s increasing in popularity round the world in quite a big way. There are some major players getting involved.” One of the big players is billionaire property developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. According to the Wall Street Journal, has invested $1 million in the first round of funding for New York startup The Drone Racing League via his investment firm RSE Ventures.
It’s looking like the drone business will soon be flying high – sorry, couldn’t help it (again).
