This article is an indirect continuation of the previous one as it's also related to VR technology. The development of virtual reality has provoked an appearance of such sport like this. This sport is in an intermediate state between the e-sports and a real sport because races take place outdoors, but the pilots are using VR glasses for total immersion and tracking of their drone. So today I will tell you about one of the most perspective and affordable analogues of conventional racing – drones racing.
There are so many technologies in the world that were originally developed for military purposes, but then were transferred to our daily lives, becoming an enjoyable pastime or even a part of life. The same was with the Internet, GPS, computers, telephones, and now it's time for drones.
A couple of years ago, a surge of excitement about drones occurred in the world, everyone wanted to buy them. But it took only two years so that the usual hobby became a professional sport of a world’s class giving us a wonderful thing - drone racing. In March 2016 the first championship World Drone Prix was held in Dubai. The prince of Dubai - Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum was its founder, by the way, and the total prize pool amounted $ 1 million.
What is the difference between these races and any other? In general, the whole idea is exactly the same as for example in Formula-1, or any other race - to overtake all rivals and finish first.
But the main difference is that if there is a collision the pilots wouldn’t receive any injuries and so it makes this sport absolutely safe. That is why many people believe that the drone racing is the racing of the future, and if we take into account the low cost of repairs and preparation for competitions, as well as the unprecedented realism of what is happening, for which we must thank VR glasses and helmets, then the perspective for the development of this sports is really huge.
The cost of quadcopter can be near $ 500, but experienced pilots buy all the parts and assemble the drones themselves. The quadcopter can move with a tremendous speed - up to 129-145 km / h.
In order to control the drone and to participate in racing, you need:
- The control panel with two joysticks, which give freedom to the "pilot", enabling fast change of speed, direction, and giving an opportunity to perform various maneuvers
- The device of virtual reality, which will receive an image from the camera that is placed on the drone. And the resolution of the camera plays a huge role, as the image is transmitted to the VR glasses of a pilot in real time.
- A powerful battery that will not be discharged by quadcopter after several hours.
The main requirements if you want to participate in the race are ease of construction, the ability to speed up, high maneuverability and, of course, the strength of the hull, so that your drone won’t be broken after the first collision. Often the weight of quadcopter should be less than a kilogram.
Take a look at this wonderful video from Drone Racing League competition
The next race will be held in this fall in Hawaii, but the prize pool there will be only 200 thousand dollars. Although you can compete to win such a poor amount of money.
To sum up, I want to say that I participated in some drone racings (of course not professionally) and that is really difficult, yeah, but you even can’t imagine how cool it is to control this small quadcopter in real life, to fill its enormous speed and to feel that you can fly! You just need to try it and you’ll understand everything. If there was a situation when there was a necessity to choose between F-1 racing and drones racing, I would certainly prefer the second one!
And which one would you pick?
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Alex