Drone racing

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File:Racing Drone.jpg
Minion 220 racing multirotor, with motors still warm after a long flying session.
Pod racer drone concept

FPV drone racing (where FPV stands for first-person view or first person video) is a sport where participants control drones equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays showing the live stream camera feed from the drones. The goal is to complete a set course as quickly as possible. Drone racing began as an amateur sport in Australia in late 2014.[1] The term rotorcross was first coined in New Zealand.[2]

Rotorcross has the potential to become a full Projected Virtual Reality (PVR) sport when people eventually add 360° spherical cameras to drones. However the wireless bandwidth demands (not to mention weight and battery constraints) for live streaming such footage currently preclude this capability.

FPV racing leagues are groups that create regulations and rules to offer a fair race among its pilots. A racer can sign up and find local chapters. They can then sign up and participate in races that the chapter hosts, and compete for points. The most accessible league to drone racing pilots is MultiGP which provides complimentary software, racing gates and racing flags to hundreds of chapters worldwide.[3] MultiGP is also the Academy of Model Aeronautics Special Interest Group for FPV racing.[4] Each event is structured, and software determine what machine can fly in certain classes to make it completely fair. Rotorcross has become drone technology's "need for speed."[5]

Drone racing technology

FPV (first person view) flying means that pilots only see what the drone sees. This is accomplished by live streaming footage from a camera mounted on the nose of the drone. The image is transmitted via radio waves to goggles worn by the pilot. Some drone racing organizations such as the U.S. National Drone Racing Championship insist that live streaming goggles could be used widely among pilots and spectators alike.[1]The sport is dependent on a strong connection in order for the pilots to react in time. The remote control, drone, and goggles are all connected via radio waves and must transmit with incredible speed in order to be effective. This technology is very new and is constantly being improved. Organizations such as the Drone Racing League (DRL) are developing and improving their own technology for drone racing.[2]

Any drone could be used to race, however competitive FPV racing leagues require drones to meet certain standards. The DRL makes all of the drones used in its events in house; pilots are supplied with drones, backup drones, and parts by the league itself, not independently.[3] In contrast MultiGP, defines community produced specifications and allows participants to supply their own drones increasing competitiveness and innovation.[6] Racing drones are designed to focus all of their energy into moving forward as opposed to a photography/video drone which is focused more on hovering. A photography drone will typically have four blades configured in an X-pattern, all equally spaced apart. A racing drone typically has its four blades configured in an H-pattern. The blades are configured to thrust the drone forward, not up. Because of their light weight and electric motors with large amounts of torque, drones can accelerate and maneuver with great speed and agility. This makes for very sensitive controls and requires a pilot with quick reaction times and a steady hand.[4]

Recreational flyers can expect a damaged blade every now and then, a relatively easy and cheap fix, as crashes are hard to avoid, however more competitive leagues can expect further damage. Leagues such as the DRL focus on tight fast-paced courses with many obstacles making it difficult not to crash. Others such as the U.S. National Drone Racing Championship tend to conduct their races in open areas with less catastrophic obstacles (flags and cones vs. walls and tunnels). [5] MultiGP provides community standards for their chapters to safely design their own courses and also generates individual pilot competition through their Universal Time Trial Track program which ranks pilots worldwide on standard measured courses.[7] Either way, the goal of the race is to complete the course first, although sometimes it is a challenge to simply complete the course at all. Different leagues have different types of courses and regulations. The DRL for example can afford to race in dense areas full of obstacles because they can afford to repair or replace a crashed drone. Recreational flyers are less likely to take such risks. Nonetheless, continual improvements in drone technology are allowing pilots to fly for less and less money each year.

Championships

2015 National Championship

The first annual U.S. National Drone Racing Championship was held in 2015. This event was held in a stadium at the California State Fair. The prize for winning the competition was $25,000 and was competed for by over 100 competitors. Chad Nowack, an Australian, won all three events including the individual time trial, was on the winning team trial squad, and won the freestyle trick event. This gave him the title of 2015 Drone Racing National Champion.[8][9][10]

2016 MultiGP Championships

In January 2016, MultiGP announced the nation's largest and most authentic drone racing championship in the history of the sport. The organization's vast network of drone racing chapters around the United States provided a platform to hold the nation's most competitive series based on pilot skill, not popularity. The organization strategically divided the U.S. into 15 Regions that will hold over 55 qualifying events convenient to pilot's hometowns, making the sport easily accessible and approachable to the masses.[11]

Cons of drone racing

With the sport of drone racing becoming a possibility, there are some difficulties that come along with it. One con of this new sport is the amount of radio traffic that is necessary for the races. These races are conducted by the pilots wearing FPV (first-person view) goggles that are showing feed from the drone itself. With each pilot needing a strong connection these radio waves could cause interference with other pilots and other drones. One other concern as to the potential popularity of drone racing is the matter of how fans will view the race. One way that has been proposed is to allow fans to have their own FPV goggles and have a view of what the pilot is seeing.[12][13][14]

Events and venues

The Drone Racing League isn't the only one trying to change the hobby into a competitive sport. Recently the U.S. National Drone Racing Championship took place at the 2015 California State Fair. It was a 2 day event with a $25,000 cash prize that attracted over 120 competitors. This was the first event like this in the US, however other countries like France, Australia and the UK had previously held similar events.[15] [16] In 2016, the MultiGP Championships will be held at the Academy of Model Aeronautics' headquarters in Muncie, Indiana.

United Kingdom

The British Drone Racing League (BDRL) has recently setup and will operate a number of professional events. The UK Events are currently being organized and will follow compliance from the CAA. [17]

Funding

It is currently difficult for these leagues to find funding due to the lack of knowledge about this up-and-coming sport. At events like the one held at the California State Fair, funding comes from the state and from ticket sales at the event. Along with the difficulties of finding funding, it creates problems of finding good venues that create a challenge for the pilots and also have key turns and straightaways adding to the exhilaration of these events. However, the Drone Racing League has just received a $1 million investment from the owner of the Miami Dolphins football team. This is crucial to the development of the league, and allows them to advertise and hold their races in better venues that will attract larger crowds.[18][19]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kiwi drone racers get ahead of the competition. 3 News. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. http://droneworlds.com/
  9. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/sports/drone-racing-competition.html?_r=0
  10. http://thedroneracingleague.com/drone-racing-101/
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. http://fpvdronereviews.com/
  13. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/sports/drone-racing-competition.html?_r=0
  14. http://thedroneracingleague.com/drone-racing-101/
  15. http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/12/9136279/drone-racing-league-one-million-backing
  16. http://thedroneracingleague.com
  17. http://www.britishdroneracingleague.com
  18. http://thedroneracingleague.com
  19. http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/12/9136279/drone-racing-league-one-million-backing